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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25314697">A Beast Inside My Brain</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfslick6007/pseuds/Wolfslick6007'>Wolfslick6007</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>We Used to be Six Wives [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Six - Marlow/Moss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>ADHD Anne Boleyn, ASD Catherine Parr, Anna is beautiful and the others make sure she knows this, Anxiety, Beheaded Cousins, Beheading, Blood, Cathy's husbands were horrible, F/F, Flashbacks, Henry was a coward and everyone should know it, Hurt/Comfort, I will be updating the tags with each chapter, Implied Aralyn, Implied Parrward, Implied Seymour/Cleves, Like very minor, Lina’s sad too, Marriage with Henry is a dumpster fire, Mentioned/past Mental Abuse, Mild Language, Minor scratching at skin, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Passing Out, Past/Mentioned Rape, Protective Queens, Sad Anna, Scars, Self-Esteem Issues, Sensory Overload, Sexual Harassment, Sign Language, Survivors Guilt, The queens as a big family, accidental injuries, all of the queens do, but it’s only mentioned and not called that, but she gets better dont worry, kat’s chapter gets pretty depressing, mentioned cancer, mentioned death, mentioned medication, mentioned quiet hands, not sleeping, phantom pains, possible anxiety attacks? Unsure if it counts, sad everyone actually, scratching at scars, she just doesn’t like to show it, the guy gets beat up don’t worry, the queens almost beat up a man, the queens learn sign language, vomitting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:35:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>36,857</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25314697</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfslick6007/pseuds/Wolfslick6007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Six Queens have been through much in their past lives. This left them with physical and mental scars. They finally encounter them.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Title from “Nightmare” by Set it Off.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>All Implied For Now</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>We Used to be Six Wives [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822099</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>171</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Catherine of Aragon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Catherine of Aragon does not like to talk about her feelings.</p>
<p>The other queens make it so she doesn’t really have to.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Welcome to another story! In which, half of my brain decided this chapter was crap, and the other half decided it was fine and I needed to post it. Also including many distractions along the way.</p>
<p>Luckily, while I was gone, I managed to get another friend into Six and she read this story and said it was great. So that helped a bit.</p>
<p>But anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the first part of the new story! As always, please check the trigger warning tags, said tags will be updated with each chapter.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In her past life, Catherine was always viewed as the rightful queen. Her people looked up to her. When she was taken from the throne, the kingdom was furious. They saw her as strong.</p>
<p>In this life, the other queens look up to Catherine. They saw her as an unmovable force that guided them. Looked after them. They saw her as strong.</p>
<p>But Catherine only saw herself as weak. Why else would Henry have thrown her away? Because she couldn’t provide the one thing he wanted. Why did Mary become something other than the sweet child Catherine knew? Because her mother wasn’t there to guide her.</p>
<p>She was weak in her past life, and she was weak in this new life. There were days where her chest spiked with pain, horrifyingly similar to when she died. There were days when Catherine wanted nothing more than to hide away from the other queens. But they couldn’t know something was wrong. She had to be present and just as strong as always.</p>
<p>But on this day, everything started wrong. She had woken up sobbing from another nightmare. Henry was sending her away, she died, and Mary became something horrible. It was as if her life played before her eyes again and again. When she woke up, her chest was also in agony. It was the worst pain yet since the reincarnation.</p>
<p>But Catherine still had to be strong. This meant she had to go downstairs for breakfast</p>
<p>So Catherine took a deep breath and sat her bible on the bedside table. She stood up and her chest twinged with another pain.</p>
<p>The pains had been going on since she had first awoken from being reincarnated. Every once in a while, her chest would spike up in pain. A dangerous reminder of how Catherine died.</p>
<p>It didn’t happen often, and even then it was barely there. But today, the pain was almost paralyzing. Still, she needed to get downstairs. If the other queens didn’t see her at breakfast, they would know something was wrong. Then, they would find out how weak she truly was.</p>
<p>She would go down for breakfast, make an appearance, and then she could spend the rest of the day in her room.</p>
<p>So, Catherine slipped on presentable clothing and made her way into the hall.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>This had been a mistake. The stairs were a challenge, every step down sending more dots into her vision. At the bottom of the steps, Catherine stopped and leaned against the wall, letting her vision clear. The pain pounded clearly in her chest and Catherine wanted nothing more than to slump to the ground.</p>
<p>“Catherine?”</p>
<p>Catherine raised her head to see Jane staring at her in concern.</p>
<p>The oldest queen immediately straightened. She refused to let others see how weak she was.  She had to be strong. Her chest flared in protest, but Catherine did her best to ignore it.</p>
<p>“Good morning, Jane.” Catherine spoke up, struggling to keep her voice steady.</p>
<p>“Are you alright?” Jane asked, quickly reaching Catherine’s side and gently taking hold of the other woman’s arm. “You look faint…”</p>
<p>Catherine brushed off the hands. “I’m fine, I simply did not sleep well.” She was perfectly fine, no matter how shaky her voice was.</p>
<p>Jane pursed her lips, but consented. “Very well… breakfast is ready if you would like to come sit down.”</p>
<p>Catherine held back a sigh of relief. “That would be lovely.”</p>
<p>As she slowly made her way into the kitchen, she noticed Jane keeping a very watchful eye on her. It did not matter, Catherine was strong, Jane would see.</p>
<p>Anna was already at the table, having returned from her morning run. She glanced up from her phone with a smile. It quickly morphed into a frown upon seeing Catherine.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” Anna asked immediately. Catherine huffed. Did she really look that terrible?</p>
<p>“I am fine.” Catherine said simply as she took a seat at the table. She kept her eyes trained on her plate of food, trying to force the black dots and dizzy feeling away. She felt their eyes on her but she ignored it.</p>
<p>Cathy and Kat soon joined them. Jane stopped them at the door and whispered something to them. Catherine couldn’t catch what. They sat down at the table, and although they didn’t say anything, Catherine could feel their eyes on her as well.</p>
<p>Anne was the last person in the room, about to shout her greeting when Jane stopped her as well. The same process repeated itself with Anne keeping an eye on Catherine as she sat down, whispering quickly with the other queens.</p>
<p>For several seconds, Catherine didn’t touch her food. Simply sitting there as she fought off the dizziness and the harsh pain. The whispers grew quieter.</p>
<p>“Catherine?”</p>
<p>Catherine felt herself snap to attention. The other queens were all watching her carefully.</p>
<p>“Yes?” Catherine asked slowly, confused.</p>
<p>“You haven’t said the grace.” Cathy pointed out with a worried frown.</p>
<p>“Ah, of course.” Catherine said with realization. She cleared her throat and moved to speak, but before any words could leave her mouth, something went wrong.</p>
<p>Her chest pain spiked again and the dots came back to her vision with a terrifying force. The dizzy feeling overtook her and she could feel her body slumping as her eyes closed.</p>
<p>She could feel hands reaching out to hold her up. Voices began shouting immediately.</p>
<p>But before Catherine could register anything else around her, she completely blacked out.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>The first sense that returned to Catherine was her hearing.</p>
<p>“—waking up!”</p>
<p>“Oh thank god!”</p>
<p>Then came touch. She was laying down, something soft both underneath and around her. Something was rubbing against her forehead, cold and wet. Something else was holding tightly to her hand, refusing to let go.</p>
<p>Catherine blinked open her eyes, squinting as her vision came back into focus. The other five queens were all around her.</p>
<p>Anna and Kat were sitting in chairs on the left side of her bed. Jane had backed up and stood on the right, a cool washcloth in hand. Cathy and Anne sat on the bed on either side of her. Anne was the one holding her hand.</p>
<p>All of them were frowning.</p>
<p>“What… What happened?” Catherine mumbled, moving to sit up, but Anna leaned forward and gently pushed her back down.</p>
<p>“You passed out, Königin.” The red queen explained gently, taking her hand off Catherine’s shoulder.</p>
<p>“Do you know what happened?” Jane asked, her face twisted with concern. “I noticed you looking sick at the stairs…”</p>
<p>“I…” Catherine trailed off. She was hoping to hide it longer, preferably forever. But she knew there was no way out now. “My chest.”</p>
<p>Everyone immediately froze before quickly speaking up.</p>
<p>“Your chest—?!”</p>
<p>“You didn’t say anything—?!”</p>
<p>Catherine felt herself shrinking under the shouts of alarm and straightened herself back up. Then, Anna’s voice powered over everyone else’s. “Ladies!”</p>
<p>Everyone paused and turned to look at the red queen. “What matters is that Catherine seems okay for right now. Jane called and got her an appointment for tomorrow morning.”</p>
<p>Jane quickly jumped in, nodding in agreement. “Yes! So until then, we will watch over Catherine in case she gets worse.”</p>
<p>Catherine felt her irritation rising and uncharacteristically snapped. “I feel fine!” Her chest burned in protest to that statement.</p>
<p>Catherine winced, and everyone clearly noticed it.</p>
<p>“Please, Catalina?” Anne was also being uncharacteristic as she pleaded with the oldest queen, taking both of her hands now. “Just for today! You scared the shit out of all of us earlier. So, please?”</p>
<p>Catherine’s brow furrowed. If she accepted, they would see just how weak she actually was. But… they saw her pass out. It couldn’t get worse than that.</p>
<p>“Fine.” Catherine finally relented. Anne beamed and Catherine allowed herself to zone out as the other queens began talking to each other.</p>
<p>God, she should have stayed in her room. Now they saw her at her weakest. Rationally, Catherine knew the other queens would never toss her aside. But everything that happened with Henry flooded back to her mind. She was weak then and she was weak now.</p>
<p>She was snapped back to the present when half of the present queens filed out of the room, giving her farewells. Anna and Jane remained behind.</p>
<p>Anna leaned back in her chair and Jane sat the wash cloth aside, sitting on the edge of the bed.</p>
<p>“Listen.” Anna started, causing Catherine to frown. “No one wanted to talk about it, but you were talking while unconscious.”</p>
<p>Maldición.</p>
<p>“You kept calling yourself weak.” Jane clarified, her face filled with concern.</p>
<p>Catherine kept her face blank. She could not afford breaking down at this moment. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”</p>
<p>“Catherine—“</p>
<p>“I am not weak.” Catherine could feel her hands trembling, but she couldn’t stop it. “I am strong.”</p>
<p>Suddenly, it felt like she was back in the past. Repeating this phrase over and over. Proving it to herself so she could one day prove it to Henry. But the pains in her chest would seal her fate before she could prove anything.</p>
<p>“Catherine!” A voice snapped. Catherine was snapped back to the present. Anna was the one who shouted. Both her and Jane were staring at her with full concern.</p>
<p>“I am perfectly fine.” Catherine muttered, sitting up as she fixed both women with a steely gaze.</p>
<p>Anna and Jane shared a glance.</p>
<p>It was Jane who spoke next. “Love, is this about when Henry replaced you?”</p>
<p>Catherine noticeably tensed, giving the women their answer. But before Catherine could retort, Anna spoke up.</p>
<p>“Catherine, Henry was an ass. You know this, right?” Anna questioned, leaning forward in her seat to meet Catherine’s eyes.</p>
<p>Catherine grimaced. This wasn’t supposed to go like this. “Yes. But even then, I couldn’t provide the simplest thing.”</p>
<p>Jane immediately recognized what she was referring to. “Catherine, you gave him Mary. If he didn’t appreciate that, then it was his fault.”</p>
<p>“And then Mary was turned into a murderer!” Catherine snapped back, her hands balling into fists.</p>
<p>“What Mary did wasn’t your fault.” Anna replied in turn, a clear frown on her face.</p>
<p>“You don’t know that, Anna.” Catherine huffed, scowling down at the bed sheets.</p>
<p>“She began her reign long after your death, Königin.” Anna replied slowly.</p>
<p>The trio fell into silence. Catherine pondering their words while Jane and Anna thought of where to go next. Should they push the issue, or move on?</p>
<p>Jane took a small breath, choosing the latter. “Catherine, how long have you been having chest pains?”</p>
<p>Catherine paused again. Should she tell them? They would not be happy with the answer.</p>
<p>“Since the reincarnation.” Catherine said before she could convince herself not to.</p>
<p>Anna and Jane’s frowns both seemed to deepen. Jane sighed. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that…”</p>
<p>“Catherine, were you worried we would see you as weak because of your pains?” Anna asked slowly, frowning.</p>
<p>When Catherine was silent, Anna inhaled deeply and Jane winced. They knew that all of the queens had some problems, they had married the same abusive man after all. But they didn’t think Catherine’s trauma would be like this. But now that they knew the problem, it was easy to piece things together due to what they knew of her past.</p>
<p>“Love, nobody in this house is completely okay.” Jane explained gently. “None of us see you as weak for this. Do you see Anne and Kat as weak for their nightmares?”</p>
<p>There was a second of quiet before Catherine spoke in a whisper. “No.”</p>
<p>“Exactly.” Jane continued. “None of us see you as weak for your pains. You just need a bit of help.”</p>
<p>“You are the strongest person we know, Catherine. Something like this? It doesn’t make you weak. And Henry? Henry was wrong.” Anna explained.</p>
<p>Despite the blank mask Catherine was trying to put up, Anna could still see the uncertainty. So she made one final attempt.</p>
<p>“You have done so many amazing things in your life! Forget Henry! Forget how he sent you away! The only reason you were sent away was because Henry got bored, just like he did with the rest of us. Not because you were weak or useless, but because Henry was complete scum. Do you understand me, Catherine? Repeat it with me. I am not weak.”</p>
<p>Catherine glared at Anna. She was clearly not keen on admitting this.</p>
<p>But Anna kept her own stare on Catherine.</p>
<p>“I… I am not weak.” Catherine muttered after several seconds.</p>
<p>“See?” Anna said, relenting and leaning back into her chair again. “Think about that.”</p>
<p>Jane hadn’t said a word through it all and didn't now, either. But when Catherine glanced at her, Jane gave her a nod and a smile.</p>
<p>After that, the room was silent.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Eventually, Anna and Jane had to leave, but Kat took their place. With her, the youngest queen brought yet another history book.</p>
<p>Catherine couldn’t get Anna and Jane’s words out of her mind. They knew about her chest pains. They had even seen her flaws. Yet, they still saw her as strong. In their eyes she wasn’t weak.</p>
<p>Eventually, Catherine felt the need to distract herself. So she glanced over at Kat and noticed the title of the book.</p>
<p>‘The Six Wives of King Henry.’</p>
<p>“Is that a book about all of us?” Catherine asked as she processed the title.</p>
<p>Katherine blinked before smiling nervously.</p>
<p>“Yeah, uhm… I was wondering if I could ask some questions? I know you’re supposed to be resting, but—!” Kat rambled, clearly nervous about her request.</p>
<p>“I’m laying down aren’t I? Go ahead, Gatita. I would be happy to answer some questions.” Catherine interrupted, letting out a huff of laughter at the younger queen’s nervousness.</p>
<p>Katherine immediately launched into her questions. Catherine humored the girl, telling her the details the book was missing. But Catherine was fairly impressed, the book had many details right.</p>
<p>“So, did you really ride into battle pregnant?” Kat asked. She looked very eager for this answer. More so than the questions before.</p>
<p>Catherine let out a laugh at this one. “No, no!”</p>
<p>Katherine frowned. “So the book was wrong on this one?”</p>
<p>“On the contrary, they were half right.” Catherine explained. “You see, Henry was off to war and our troops were loosing moral. I was heavily pregnant at the time, but still I put on my armor and rode to speak with the troops.”</p>
<p>“You—?” Kat looked in shock. “While pregnant?!”</p>
<p>Catherine chuckled as she nodded. She listened as Kat rambled. One phrase Kat said mid ramble immediately clung to Catherine’s thoughts.</p>
<p>“You did so many amazing things!”</p>
<p>‘Amazing things.’ Was this what Anna was referring to earlier? All of these facts and lost memories Kat was reading to her?</p>
<p>What she didn’t know was that Kat had a purpose for showing her all of these facts. She had been in the room when Catherine called herself weak. She had gotten this book the day before and had already known she wanted to ask everyone questions about what was fact.</p>
<p>It just happened that she could remind Catherine of all the good things she had done in her past life.</p>
<p>“Catherine?” Kat asked slowly, snapping the older queen out of her thoughts.</p>
<p>“Ah, Sorry. I must have been lost in thought.” Catherine explained.</p>
<p>“That’s okay! I already asked everything I wanted to and Cathy will be here in a few minutes.” Kat said with a small laugh.</p>
<p>Sure enough, Cathy entered the room soon after.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Cathy was sitting in the chair next to her, notebook in hands as she wrote quietly. They had been this way for several minutes, quiet. Catherine lost in her thoughts yet again and Cathy lost in her writing.</p>
<p>After a minute or two, Cathy found a good place to stop and looked up at Catherine.</p>
<p>“How is your chest?” Cathy questioned,</p>
<p>“It isn’t hurting, if that is what you are wondering.”</p>
<p>“Good. Good.” Cathy said, nodding her head.</p>
<p>There was silence for several seconds before Cathy spoke again. “You mentioned Mary this morning.</p>
<p>She did? Catherine couldn’t remember anything from while she was unconscious. Jane and Anna told her that she called herself weak several times. They figured out she felt bad about Mary, but they didn’t mention her talking about her daughter.</p>
<p>“I see…” Was all Catherine said as she looked anywhere but at Cathy. </p>
<p>“You also said my name right after.” Cathy explained further. She was rubbing the fabric of her sleeve anxiously. “You told Mary that I remind you of her…”</p>
<p>Catherine froze for several seconds before slowly admitting, “you do remind me of her.”</p>
<p>There was a stretch of silence. Catherine began getting nervous before Cathy finally spoke.</p>
<p>“You also remind me of my mother.” The goddaughter also admitted.</p>
<p>They were both quietly staring at each other, unsure where to go from their confessions.</p>
<p>“Come here, hija.” Catherine spoke up, moving over and patting the space next to her on the bed. Cathy blinked, surprised at both the nickname and the invitation.</p>
<p>She continued rubbing at her sleeves nervously but moved to her godmother’s side.</p>
<p>“Can I hug you?” Catherine asked. In the time since being reincarnated, Catherine learned that Cathy was very sensitive to when she could be touched. It depended on who and if she wanted it.</p>
<p>Cathy smiled and nodded, pressing herself into Catherine’s side as the first queen wrapped an arm around her in a one armed hug.</p>
<p>“I miss them.” Catherine practically whispered. “Your mother and Mary.”</p>
<p>Cathy hummed in agreement. “They were both wonderful people…” Cathy then quietly spoke. “Can we… stay like this for a while?”</p>
<p>“If that is what you want.” Catherine said with a small chuckle.</p>
<p>Cathy soon had her notebook on her lap as she wrote. Catherine’s arm remained around the younger woman as she watched Cathy write curiously. This went on for close to an hour before a stifled yawn escaped Catherine’s mouth and hand.</p>
<p>“Sleep, Madre.” Cathy said gently with a laugh. “You will not be alone.”</p>
<p>Catherine tried to fight it but eventually allowed herself to drift away, arm still around the goddaughter who had, in the span of just over a month, become so much like an actual daughter.</p>
<p>As a dream consumed her, there was one thing Catherine knew for sure.</p>
<p>She was not going to lose another daughter.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Just like this morning, Catherine woke up sobbing. Henry sent her away. Mary became something horrible. Her own death.</p>
<p>Oh, God. Her chest ached. It was the same pain from this morning and Catherine could already see the dots returning.</p>
<p>But unlike this morning, there were arms wrapped around her, pulling her close to something warm.</p>
<p>“Breathe, Lina.” The voice soothed. “Just breathe. You’re okay.”</p>
<p>With the voice’s guidance, Catherine took deep breaths. The ache became a dull throbbing and the sobbing faded away.</p>
<p>As her senses returned, Catherine noticed that it was now night before also quickly figuring out who the voice was. There was only one person who called her Lina after all.</p>
<p>“Anne?” Catherine mumbled, cursing herself for how shakey her voice was.</p>
<p>“That’s right.” Anne confirmed, her grip loosening so Catherine could get out if she wanted to. “Are you alright now?”</p>
<p>“Yes. Thank you.” Catherine said, reluctantly (although she would never admit it) removing herself from the embrace. The others accepted her for her weaknesses, but Anne was a wildcard at the moment.</p>
<p>“You feel bad about Mary.” Anne said immediately.</p>
<p>Moments from Catherine’s dream flashed back in front of her face, making her flinch.</p>
<p>Anne didn’t let Catherine reply. “I do too.”</p>
<p>“What?” Catherine questioned quietly, glancing at Anne.</p>
<p>“I feel bad about Mary.” Anne repeated. “After your funeral, I tried to talk to her. Nice kid, hated my guts though.” Anne leaned back against the headboard as she spoke, looking back at memories.</p>
<p>Catherine still sat straight but looked sadly back at Anne. “I’m sorry, Anne—“</p>
<p>“No.” Anne said immediately, sitting back up with a frown. “You don’t get to say that. She just lost her mother. Her father was celebrating said mother’s death, and she thought I was celebrating too. She had every single right to hate me.”</p>
<p>Catherine opened her mouth to retort. But Anne interrupted again. “She was angry at the world, Lina. You couldn’t do anything about that.”</p>
<p>“I could have fought back harder. I could have—!” The insecurities flying out of Catherine’s mouth was halted by Anne reaching forward to take her hands again.</p>
<p>“You did all that you could.” Anne said quietly, just as out of character as Catherine felt in that moment. “I want you to know that Mary had the best possible childhood while you were still there. Nothing could change that.”</p>
<p>There was a stretch of silence, just like in all the conversations beforehand. Anne pulled her hands back and watched Catherine carefully.</p>
<p>“Do you ever miss Elizabeth?” Catherine asked finally, meeting Anne’s eyes.</p>
<p>Anne’s eyes widened a fraction before they softened. “All the damn time.”</p>
<p>Catherine allowed a smile at Anne’s softness towards her daughter. “Tell me about her.”</p>
<p>“Hmm?” Anne hummed, blinking at Catherine in surprise.</p>
<p>“Tell me about Elizabeth.” Catherine explained. “Tell me about Elizabeth, and I’ll tell you about Mary.”</p>
<p>Anne looked a little nervous. “I… I can’t remember much.”</p>
<p>“Then tell me what you do remember.” Catherine said gently.</p>
<p>The two shared stories late into the night. More memories returning to Anne as she continued sharing them. Catherine didn’t even notice the pain in her chest fading away to a dull thrumming.</p>
<p>“We stayed out there for hours, watching the stars.” Anne finished her story, a content look on her face.</p>
<p>“Mary and I did the same thing once.” Catherine revealed, her own serene smile tugging at her lips. “The stars were so beautiful back then.”</p>
<p>“You could make out every single constellation.” Anne agreed. She glanced over at Catherine and must have seen something in her expression. “Do you want to go back to sleep?”</p>
<p>Catherine only just realized how tired she felt. It must have been what Anne saw.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure I want to.” Catherine stated.</p>
<p>“The nightmare?” Anne asked simply. Catherine didn’t even have to reply. “Please try? You have to go to the doctors tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Catherine scowled at that reminder before taking a deep breath. “Very well…” She conceded, allowing her eyes to close.</p>
<p>As she fell from reality yet again, she heard Anne’s voice.</p>
<p>“Go back to sleep, Lina.” Anne soothed, her hand finding the other woman’s. Catherine didn’t fight it. It felt comforting. “I’ll be here.”</p>
<p>So, Catherine drifted off. This time, her dreams were filled with happy moments with the other queens and her daughter.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>The doctor’s office was quiet.</p>
<p>Four of the six queens had been in the waiting room for what felt like hours. Anne and Anna brought the switch with them and were playing. Kat and Cathy were reading next to them. They all looked engrossed in what they were doing, but if you looked close enough, you would notice their eyes mostly on the door instead.</p>
<p>Catherine originally insisted on going in alone. This was surprisingly the first time the queens had visited the doctor, all other injuries had been minor enough to need only the first aid kit, so everyone was wary to let Catherine go alone. There was a large relief when she finally agreed to Jane’s company.</p>
<p>So everyone waited, nervous energy filling the room.</p>
<p>But soon enough, two familiar faces walked out the door. Causing the other four queens to immediately beam and stand up.</p>
<p>“What did the doctor say?” Cathy asked, closing her notebook.</p>
<p>“Catherine is completely healthy!” Jane announced happily. The tension in the room left the air and smiles almost seemed to get wider.</p>
<p>But Catherine took a deep breath. “I still don’t understand it… I have had these pains for a while now. Small, yes, but there. So why is it nothing?”</p>
<p>Everyone paused, pondering. Then, Kat remembered two things. The pain that flared in her scar and something she had read in the history book.</p>
<p>“I think I may know.” Kat announced and heads swiveled to look at her curiously.</p>
<p>“Wait, really?” Anne asked quickly.</p>
<p>“Yes, but I don’t think it’s something we should talk about here…” Kat trailed off, glancing at the few other families in the waiting room with them.</p>
<p>“Let’s find a better place to talk then.” Anna agreed as she guided everyone out the door.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>“Catherine, how did you die in your past life?” Kat asked as soon as they found a more private place.</p>
<p>Immediately it clicked for every single person. Catherine didn’t know how she didn’t think of it before.</p>
<p>“I… It was a sickness. In my chest.”</p>
<p>“In the book, it says it was called cancer.” Kat explained. “It was rare back in our time so no one knew what it was. Apparently it can happen in different parts of the body, yours happened to be in your heart.”</p>
<p>“So it has been phantom pains?” Anne asked, she looked both concerned and relieved. Concerned that Catherine has these pains, but relieved it wasn’t an actual illness.</p>
<p>“That would explain why it comes and goes.” Cathy pointed out.</p>
<p>“I believe Kat is right.” Catherine admitted, pursing her lips. “It does explain why the doctor found nothing as well.”</p>
<p>Anna took a breath of relief as she smiled at the oldest queen. “Thank god you aren’t sick.”</p>
<p>“I wonder why it got that bad?” Jane questioned with a hum.</p>
<p>“Perhaps it was just a bad day yesterday.” Catherine said, looking just as confused as the others did.</p>
<p>There was a small stretch of silence as everyone pondered this.</p>
<p>“Why don’t we all head home and relax?” Jane eventually asked. “I would think Catherine especially would like to be at home right now.”</p>
<p>Catherine gave a grateful nod as the queens began the trek to public transport. “That sounds wonderful.”</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>“Let’s have one last talk about this, okay?” Jane asked gently, smiling at Catherine as they all stepped through the front door. “It won’t be long, and after this, we won’t bring it up again unless you want us too.”</p>
<p>Catherine looked apprehensive, taking in the five encouraging faces around her. Finally, she relented. “One last talk.”</p>
<p>The other queens smiled as they made their way over to the chairs and couches in the living room. Catherine, Anne, and Jane all shared the couch with Anna taking an armchair and Cathy taking her own armchair. Kat had planted herself on the ground in front of Cathy’s armchair, leaning back against the woman’s legs.</p>
<p>They sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say.</p>
<p>“Let’s start this off with a major point.” Anna finally spoke up. She looked Catherine directly in the eye as she spoke. “You are anything but weak.”</p>
<p>“Henry didn’t send you away because you weren’t good enough.” Jane agreed. “He sent you away because he didn’t get what he wanted.”</p>
<p>Kat nodded along to the advice. “Henry was a coward. A coward who we will never see again.”</p>
<p>“Good riddance.” Cathy muttered, glaring at the ceiling.</p>
<p>“And you have to promise to let us know if your chest gets that bad again!” Anne declared from Catherine’s side, making the taller girl glance down at her.</p>
<p>Catherine glanced down at Anne and nodded. “I promise.” She paused for a second, glancing at the other queens with a smile. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>All the queens knew she didn’t want to talk about it, just like before. But that ‘thank you,’ said much more than two words.</p>
<p>They knew Catherine didn’t fully believe their words yet. She would still try to hide some of her problems from them. But it was definitely a start.</p>
<p>“With that little talk over, I think we should do a movie day!” Anna exclaimed as she stood up. She looked over at Jane and offered a hand. “Help me with snacks?”</p>
<p>“Of course!” Jane replied as she took Anna’s help up. Both vanished into the kitchen with the sound of cabinets opening and closing following seconds later.</p>
<p>Kat tugged at Cathy’s sleeve, prompting the writer to look down at her. “Help me get blankets?”</p>
<p>Cathy nodded and the two made their way upstairs, leaving the first and second queen alone in the living room.</p>
<p>“You had the bad day yesterday, so you get to choose the movie!” Anne declared as she pulled up Netflix.</p>
<p>Catherine opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by the remote being shoved into her hands.</p>
<p>“Anne—!”</p>
<p>“Come on, Lina!” Anne cut Catherine off again. “Your choice! Whatever it is!”</p>
<p>“Even if I choose a horrible documentary?” Catherine teased with a smirk.</p>
<p>Anne rolled her eyes. “I would hate every second of it, but yes, even a horrible documentary.”</p>
<p>“Hmm, I don’t think I’ll torture you with that just yet, querida.”</p>
<p>“Querida?”</p>
<p>“Just a nickname.”</p>
<p>“But what does it mean?!”</p>
<p>“I’ll pick the movie if you drop it.”</p>
<p>“... Fine.”</p>
<p>If Anne took her hand while the movie played later, then the other queens didn’t need to know.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>As the movie played in the background, Catherine looked fondly at the queens around her.</p>
<p>The golden queen hates talking about her feelings. But somehow, she didn’t have to. The wonderful women around her had seen through her cracks and noticed what was wrong.</p>
<p>Catherine still saw herself as weak, she was sent away for a reason after all. And she didn’t think that would ever fade away. But perhaps, the other queens deserved to see the weakest parts of herself.</p>
<p>It would be a long time until she was willing to let them see that. But maybe with time, she would let them in fully.</p>
<p>Henry was a coward. A bastard. She knew this for certain now. And she would never forget it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Anne Boleyn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Anne Boleyn was always seen as the hyper queen. None of the queens ever considered that there could be a medical reason for this.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter two!</p><p>Nothing much to say for this one, just a reminder that characters may seem a little ooc because... y’know, trauma.</p><p>Also the tags have (hopefully) been updated! So check there for trigger warnings!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In her past life, Anne Boleyn was known as the temptress. She was also known for her temper and sharp wit. Not to mention her beheading. Much less known was her humorous side. The side that pranked and joked with members of the castle staff when Henry and his trusted circle wasn’t looking.</p><p>In her new life, Anne was the jokester of the household. Jokes and pranks were common from the second queen, even more so now that she had gotten Kat in on it. This life, she was free to make as much fun, or chaos, as she wanted too without having to look over her shoulder every second.</p><p>But Anne was far from actually happy. Almost every night she woke up from a nightmare, and lately, it had kept her from falling asleep at all. But lately, she wasn’t waking up screaming, she would jolt awake and lay there, unable to sleep any longer.</p><p>She refused to go to the other queens. They all had their own problems to deal with. The fact that she wasn’t waking them all up with a scream was even better.</p><p>But the other queens were noticing that something was wrong. They hadn’t been woken up by a scream from Anne for a while, and they had to admit they were both hopeful and concerned. The hope was thrown out the window and the concern only grew upon catching the dark circles under Anne’s eyes.</p><p>But it wasn’t just the nightmares and not sleeping they were noticing.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>It all started on one cloudy morning. Four of the six queens were out of the house on a shopping trip, leaving behind Catherine and Anne.</p><p>The first queen was upstairs, she had a new book she wanted to read and now was the perfect time to do it.</p><p>Meanwhile, Anne was in the kitchen, baking. It was something she never really did in her past life, or this life.</p><p>But the queens had been so nice in this new life, and Anne had pondered what she could do in return for a while. So she decided to bake a cake for them, and since almost everyone was out, it was the perfect time.</p><p>So Anne placed the finished cake in the oven and set the timer.</p><p>As she waited, she sat in the living room, completely focused on a new game. But she was so focused that she didn’t hear the timer. The smell of smoke was what caught her attention.</p><p>Anne yelped and tossed the console on the couch as she rushed into the kitchen.</p><p>There wasn’t much smoke, but it was still there. Anne quickly grabbed the oven mitts and opened the oven door, letting out even more smoke.</p><p>Anne began a chant of curses in French as she coughed between each word.</p><p>Catherine had heard the commotion and quickly made her way downstairs. She froze upon seeing the smoke before quickly rushing forward to help Anne. She opened the windows to let the smoke out as Anne pulled the black cake out and slammed it down on the counter.</p><p>After doing everything she could about the smoke, Catherine turned to face Anne. The other queen was simply staring at the cake, scowling at it.</p><p>“You forgot about it?” Catherine asked slowly. A small shrug was the response.</p><p>“That’s alright, Querida.” Catherine continues, moving to Anne’s side. “You could have waited for Jane if you wanted a cake.”</p><p>Anne grimaced and shook her head. “It was supposed to be a surprise for you guys.”</p><p>Catherine seemed confused by that. “A surprise?”</p><p>Anne looked sheepish as she shifted slightly. “Just… For everything.”</p><p>Catherine understood immediately and her face softened. She reached over and picked up the burnt cake, striding over to dump it in the trash can before placing the pan into the sink.</p><p>“Let the oven air out a little longer and then I can help with a new one.”</p><p>Anne blinked owlishly. “What?”</p><p>Catherine chuckled. “I said, I can help with a new cake.”</p><p>“You would do that?” Anne asked slowly, clearly confused.</p><p>“I’m in on the surprise now, and we have a while longer before the others are due home.” Catherine said simply.</p><p>Anne beamed at Catherine and set about pulling out the ingredients again while Catherine found the bowls and washed down the needed tools.</p><p>The next cake was absolutely delicious.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The queen's household is full of different systems. Chores were one of them.</p><p>Once a week, everyone would have a different room to clean alongside cleaning their rooms.</p><p>This week, Anne was to clean the bathroom.</p><p>But when Jane went in, the bathroom wasn't cleaned at all. So she went downstairs and found Anne perched in an armchair, a book in hand.</p><p>The green queen was completely absorbed with her book, paying no attention to Jane. So the silver queen made her way over and gently tapped Anne on the shoulder.</p><p>Anne jolted but looked up at Jane with a smile. “Hi, Mère!”</p><p>“Hello, Anne.” Jane greeted in return. “You never cleaned the bathroom.”</p><p>Anne rubbed at her neck. She only scratched when extremely nervous or scared, but rubbing was still a sign of nervousness.</p><p>“Shit. Sorry, Mère.” Anne said, a sheepish grin on her face. “Got distracted.”</p><p>“Language.” Jane admonished, but her smile betrayed her anger. “Why don’t you go do it now before you forget again?”</p><p>“Yeah, sure!” Anne agreed as she slid out of the armchair.</p><p>It didn’t get done until later that evening when Anne suddenly remembered it out of nowhere.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Anna had enough of Anne’s new sleeping habit. It had been going on for a day or two and Anna was going to do something about it.</p><p>She found the green queen in the attic, controller in hand as she played through a level.</p><p>“We need to talk.” Anna said immediately. Anne frowned and paused the game, looking over at Anna.</p><p>“About what?”</p><p>“Your sleeping habits.”</p><p>Anne tensed slightly, feigning confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“We’ve all noticed, Verrücktes Mädchen.” Anna said simply.</p><p>“I’m fine, Anna.” Anne muttered, hand rubbing at her neck.</p><p>“Anne—!”</p><p>“I’m fine!” Anne snapped standing up. “Can’t any of you leave me alone for five fucking seconds?! I don’t get on your case for looking up your portrait all the time!”</p><p>Both women froze.</p><p>“Merde— Anna, I didn’t mean— je suis navrée.” Anne muttered, refusing to look at Anna.</p><p>“So… You know about that?” Anna asked quietly as she walked over to Anne.</p><p>“Yeah… I’m sorry.”</p><p>“That’s— it’s okay.” Anna said as she placed a hand on Anne’s shoulder. “Just… try to get some sleep, okay? We’re all worried about you.”</p><p>“Okay... I'm sorry…”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>Anne didn’t get any sleep that night. Neither did Anna.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Once a week, the queens went out for breakfast. It was something different than making their own breakfast, and it was something they all enjoyed. Most of the queens were ready and waiting to leave. But one queen was absent.</p><p>“Has anyone seen Anne?” Jane asked as she took a seat on the couch.</p><p>“No, she’s usually down here by now.” Catherine said, frowning as she glanced towards the stairs.</p><p>“I’ll go check on her!” Kat spoke up, making her way to the stairs before anyone could argue otherwise. She made her way to Anne’s bedroom and paused upon hearing a slam.</p><p>“Annie?” Kat asked as she edged the door open. She froze in surprise.</p><p>Anne was fully dressed and ready to leave, but was digging frantically through a drawer.</p><p>Kat frowned and made her way to Anne’s side. She placed her hand on her cousin’s shoulder and Anne immediately jumped. But this allowed Kat to see the problem.</p><p>Anne wasn’t wearing her choker.</p><p>“Chaton, I can't find it.” Anne muttered as she turned back to the drawer again.</p><p>Kat frowned, imagining if she had lost her own choker. She gently took Anne’s hands and guided her over to the bed, making the green queen sit down.</p><p>“That’s alright, Annie.” Kat comforted, still standing as she let go of Anne’s hands. “Do you remember where you left it last night?”</p><p>“That’s the problem. I can’t remember!” Anne practically growled. Her foot tapped rapidly against the floor and her hands drifted towards her neck. Kat quickly retook Anne’s hands upon seeing this.</p><p>“I need you to calm down, Anne.” Kat spoke. “I’ll help you look, and if we can’t find it before we leave, you can wear a scarf to breakfast.”</p><p>Anne considered Kat’s words. “Okay.” She agreed after a moment of thinking.</p><p>Kat smiled at this and helped Anne stand back up. Together, they made their way through each drawer in the room.</p><p>No choker could be found.</p><p>“We’ll look when we get home, promise.” Kat said as she pulled down a green scarf from the top of the closet.</p><p>Anne let Kat gently wrap the scarf around her neck. She made to exit the room but stopped when Kat didn’t follow her. “Chaton?”</p><p>Kat unclasped her own choker and quietly moved past Anne. Concerned, her cousin followed her down the hall and into Kat’s room. Kat placed the choker on her dresser and made her way over to her closet. Anne watched curiously as seconds later, Kat pulled down her own pink scarf.</p><p>“Chaton, you don’t have to—!”</p><p>“I want to.” Kat explained as she fumbled with her scarf. It had been awhile since she wore it. “I know you’re more comfortable with your choker, so maybe it will make you more comfortable if I wear my own scarf!”</p><p>Anne stared blankly for several seconds before a small smile stretched across her face. She made her way across the room and helped Kat put on the scarf.</p><p>“Thank you, Chaton.” Anne said happily, smiling up at her cousin.</p><p>“Of course, Annie. Now, how about some pancakes?” Kat asked as she looped her arm with Anne’s, leading her out of the room.</p><p>Later that day, Kat would find the lost choker sitting on the bathroom sink. She would bring it triumphantly to Anne, who would let out a cheer of relief as she placed it around her neck.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>It was a nice day outside. Occasionally, on days like these, Cathy likes to go out. She would go to the library and read there before simply walking around the town.</p><p>So she grabbed her bag and made her way downstairs, where she was met with Anne. The other queen was draped across the couch, eyes glued to the tv.</p><p>“Can you tell the other queens I went to the library?” Cathy asked as she moved over to the door.</p><p>“I’ll go with you!” Anne said instead, standing from her seat.</p><p>“Really?” Cathy asked, surprised.</p><p>“Yeah, I read!” Anne said with a snicker. “Let me write a note and then we can go.”</p><p>So they made their way to the library, where Cathy immediately claimed the table in the corner for them.</p><p>Both soon had a pile of books, although Anne’s was considerably smaller.</p><p>As Cathy read, she heard a noise.</p><p>Tap. Tap. Tap.</p><p>She glanced across the table and saw Anne’s fingers tapping rapidly against the table as she read. Cathy winced but didn’t say anything.</p><p>Tap. Tap. Tap.</p><p>But the tapping was so loud.</p><p>Tap. Tap. Tap.</p><p>This went on for several minutes with Cathy struggling to keep her attention on her book and to not shout at Anne.</p><p>Tap. Tap. Tap.</p><p>Cathy finally snapped.</p><p>Cathy’s fist slammed down onto the table. Anne jumped, eyes widening as her head jolted to face Cathy. Both of Cathy’s hands went up and covered her ears.</p><p>“STOP THAT!” Cathy cried out, squeezing her eyes shut.</p><p>Anne flinched, staring wide eyed at Cathy.</p><p>“Excuse me, but if you’re going to yell like that, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” The librarian offered, making her way over to them.</p><p>Cathy didn’t offer her a response, instead grabbing her bag and placing the books back on the shelves. Anne was still quiet through all of it, even as they finally made their way out the door.</p><p>“I’m sorry.” Anne mumbled as they turned the corner to their house. “For the tapping.”</p><p>Cathy’s steps faltered as she glanced at Anne. “No… I’m— I’m sorry about freaking out. It was just so loud…”</p><p>Anne furrowed her brows and watched Cathy for a moment. Then as they reached the front door, she finally asked one last question. “What book were you looking at getting? I can’t remember what it’s called.”</p><p>Cathy frowned as she turned to fully face Anne. “It was ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.’ Apparently, it’s a classic in modern literature. I know what you’re planning and you don’t have to do it.”</p><p>“I’m going to the stores later anyways.” Anne said, clearly not going to take no for an answer. “I’ll get it then.”</p><p>Cathy watched Anne enter the front door before quietly following behind.</p><p>The next morning after breakfast, Cathy found not just the first book, but also ‘Chambers of Secrets,’ laying on her bed.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Over the next few days, the queens began to notice the sleeping problem getting worse.</p><p>They knew for sure now that Anne wasn’t sleeping. She was nodding off at random times only to snap herself awake. The dark circles under her eyes were noticeable as well.</p><p>This was correct. Anne wasn’t sleeping. For the past few days, every time she tried a nightmare or memory would wake her up almost immediately, leaving her awake for the rest of the night. As she laid awake, she also began thinking about how annoying everything must have been for the other queens, which was no help.</p><p>For some reason, these nightmares haven’t left her screaming like they used to. This meant none of the other queens were coming to her side. Anne would never admit it, but she missed it. Still, she refused to bother them.</p><p>But that all changed during one nightmare.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>It was as if watching a movie on repeat. She had seen these events millions of times before, always playing out the exact same way.</p><p>It was strange. It was hard for Anne to remember details sometimes, yet her execution was so, so clear in her mind.</p><p>Her ladies came in and guided her down the hallways. The sunlight pierced her eyes, followed by the wild cheering and laughter of the many who had come to attend the execution.</p><p>Henry’s face. Jane’s face. Her own family’s faces. Elizabeth’s face.</p><p>Her speech passed as a blur.</p><p>A blindfold was wrapped around her eyes and she dropped to her knees.</p><p>The cheering. The damn cheering.</p><p>She heard the sliding of metal against metal and felt a harsh sob force its way out of her throat. But still, she forced the smile onto her face. She refused to let Henry take that from her.</p><p>Then there was a burning agony.</p><p>A strangled scream escaped her lips. She wasn’t dead. Why was she not dead? Did the execution go wrong?</p><p>She was still blindfolded, unable to see. But the crowd was still cheering.</p><p>It was confusing. Was she dead? Had the sword even been swung yet? If not, then why did her neck feel as if it was on fire?</p><p>Her body felt numb, but suddenly, she felt a touch. It was as if her body had been reactivated and Anne could feel the hands grasping at her wrists, pulling them away from her neck.</p><p>Upon feeling the hands, a frantic feeling welled up in Anne’s chest. She began struggling, kicking and screaming.</p><p>She didn’t want to die. She never wanted to.</p><p>“LAISSE-MOI! LAISSE-MOI!” Anne screamed. “HENRY S’IL TE PLAIT! JE NE VEUX PAS MOURIR!”</p><p>She slowly stopped struggling and choked out. “Je ne veux pas mourir…”</p><p>But through the cheering crowd came a very familiar voice. “It’s just me, querida. I need you to listen to my voice. No one will hurt you.” The voice repeated itself several times as the cheering crowd slowly faded and Anne registered who the voice belonged to.</p><p>“Lina?” Anne whimpered, eyes still shut and body tense.</p><p>“That’s right, querida.” The familiar voice soothed. “I need you to open your eyes for me.”</p><p>“Lina— je ne peux pas— ils vont me tuer!” Anne wheezed as her breathing picked back up again.</p><p>“Anne! Querida! Breathe… I need you to breathe…” Catherine continued slowly. “You are not about to die. You are in your bedroom, in the 21st century. I am here and so are the other queens. We are all worried about you, so I need you to open your eyes. Come back to us, Querida.”</p><p>“Bandeau.” Anne muttered, shaking her head.</p><p>“There is no blindfold, Querida. You are home. Open your eyes.”</p><p>Slowly, Anne cracked open her eyes. She was met with light, making her wince. She was also met with five anxious queens standing around her.</p><p>Kat and Cathy stood by the door, Kat with a first aid kit and pack of wipes. Jane and Anna stood by the bed, eyes wide with concern. Catherine sat on the bed in front of her, thumbs rubbing soothing circles into the back of her hands. The golden queen smiled upon seeing Anne finally open her eyes.</p><p>“There you are.” Catherine hummed.</p><p>“Accueil?” Anne asked slowly, still not completely out of her nightmare.</p><p>Catherine’s french was rusty, she hasn’t had the need to use it for a while. But she was using it now and she also recognized that word. “That’s right, Querida. Home.”</p><p>Then, it was as if all of the fight left Anne along with any remaining energy. She shuddered and let herself slump forward into Catherine. She placed her face against the other queen’s shoulder, hiding from all of the queens.</p><p>One of Catherine’s hands came loose from Anne’s wrist and wrapped around Anne’s body. The other hand trailed from Anne’s other wrist to her hand, entwining their fingers together.</p><p>This was one of Anne’s worst nightmares, it always felt real, but this time, it was like she felt her neck being cut. Her neck burned and she could feel the blood oozing down her neck and fingertips. But the worst part was, she wanted nothing more than to drift back to sleep. She didn’t care about the pain or possible nightmares.</p><p>“Fuck. I’m tired…” Anne mumbled absently, her eyes drifting shut again but her mind refusing to sleep.</p><p>“How long has it been since you slept, querida?” Catherine asked gently.</p><p>Anne thought about it for a moment. “A few days? Dunno.”</p><p>“You need to let Jane bandage your neck, and then you can go back to sleep, alright?” Catherine told Anne, earning a hum in response.</p><p>“Come here, Querida.” Catherine murmured. Anne was light enough that Catherine easily pulled the woman fully onto her lap.</p><p>Faintly, Anne felt confusion. Catherine was never this open with her affection, even with the other queens and especially not with Anne. When they held hands, Catherine was always making sure the others couldn’t see and it was almost strictly for comfort. How loudly had she been screaming? And just how bad was her neck? Considering the blood caking her nails, Anne figured the answer would be terrible.</p><p>Anne simply sat there, maintaining her death grip on one of Catherine’s hands. Jane and Kat made their way over to the bed as well.</p><p>After handing Jane the first aid kit, Kat made her way around the bed to sit next to her cousin. One of Anne’s hands unlatched from her grip on Catherine and reached towards Kat.</p><p>Kat gently took the hand and opened the pack of wipes. She began cleaning the blood from Anne’s hand, trying to ignore her own creeping memories.</p><p>“Can you tell us why you haven’t slept?” It was Anna who asked the question this time. Her and Cathy had also made their way over and sat on the edge of the bed, out of everyone’s way, but still present.</p><p>“Memories.” Anne answered. She wasn’t going to mention the annoyance she held at herself.</p><p>No one pressed further. They knew exactly what memories kept her from sleeping. It was the same ones that left her screaming.</p><p>After a few minutes, Jane put the first aid kit away and Kat had cleaned up Anne’s hands.</p><p>Anne let her head fall back against Catherine. Her eyes began to drift close but she immediately forced them back open. She didn’t want to remember anymore. She didn’t want to die again.</p><p>“Annie, you can sleep now.” Kat said as she reached over and gently took hold of Anne’s shoulder.</p><p>“We’ll all be right here.” Cathy agreed immediately, turning the light off. Sure enough, through the dark, Anne noticed that everyone had moved to get more comfortable. At some point, Catherine managed to move herself and Anne so they were leaning against the headboard. Kat was right next to the two, curled up with a pink blanket and also with Cathy, who had made her way over and laid right next to the pink queen with her own blue blanket. Anna and Jane were right next to them as well, making it work despite the size of the bed.</p><p>Anne was still uncertain and fought to keep her eyes open. But soon, someone began humming. Anne blinked and glanced around her. The person humming was Jane, and upon noticing the other queen staring through the darkness, the silver queen gave Anne a serene smile.</p><p>Anne felt her eyes drifting close and couldn’t fight it anymore. She let herself drift off, surrounded by warmth and the humming of a peaceful melody.</p><p>When she began crying in her sleep again, arms wrapped around her a little tighter, followed by gentle words that calmed her yet again.</p><p>No more nightmares followed that night.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Over the next few days, everyone kept a close eye on the green queen. Making sure she slept properly and took care of herself.</p><p>While the other queens looked after Anne, Cathy began researching. It began with nightmares and calming techniques, but soon Cathy found herself looking up hyperactivity.</p><p>That’s when she found an article. ADHD.</p><p>There were several symptoms Cathy was sure Anne had shown.</p><p>Easily distracted. That could explain what happened with Catherine and the baking incident.</p><p>Struggling to complete tasks and hyperfocusing. The times Jane has to remind Anne of the chores.</p><p>Temper and blurting out thoughts. When Anna tried to confront Anne about not sleeping, although the others were never told what Anne said.</p><p>Constantly losing or misplacing things. Kat had to help Anna find her choker, and it wasn’t uncommon for Anne to lose other items as well.</p><p>Constantly fidgeting. Cathy thought back to when Anne kept tapping at the table, along with how hard it was for the second queen to keep still.</p><p>It was as if everything clicked. But Cathy wasn’t a doctor. She simply noticed correlations.</p><p>She needed to go to Anne about this.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Cathy found Anne up in the attic. She was playing a game with Anna and Kat. Upon seeing her, all three girls paused the game.</p><p>“Can I speak to Anne?” Cathy asked. The mentioned queen seemed surprised but quickly followed Cathy down the stairs.</p><p>After they left, Anna glanced at Kat. “Kill her character?”</p><p>“Of course!”</p><p>Down in Cathy’s room, Cathy took a seat in her desk chair, pulling her laptop onto her lap as she swiveled to face Anne, who sat on the edge of the bed.</p><p>“So, what’s up?” Anne asked.</p><p>“Have you ever heard of something called ADHD?” Cathy asked, jumping straight to the point.</p><p>Anne furrowed her brows, leaning forward slightly. “Nope, can’t say I have.”</p><p>“Well, ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” Cathy explained. “And… I think you may have it.”</p><p>Anne paused, staring wide eyed at Cathy. “Uh… Care to repeat that?”</p><p>“I think you may have ADHD.”</p><p>“Okay… I still don’t know what it is?”</p><p>Cathy immediately launched into an explanation. She explained how ADHD occurred, symptoms, and everything else.</p><p>Anne paid close attention through it all. She recognized what Cathy was getting at.</p><p>“Huh… It sounds possible.” Anne agreed.</p><p>“Do you think you had symptoms in your past life as well?”</p><p>Anne pondered this. She remembered fidgeting during court, earning glares from Henry. Her parents lectured her for not being ladylike as a child. Unruly, she was called. She showed other symptoms too, such as zoning out and losing items.</p><p>“Yeah. Everyone called me an unruly child.” Anne said with a smirk.</p><p>Cathy chuckled as the two fell into a silence. Then, Anne looked at Cathy questioningly.</p><p>“What do we do now?” Anne asked almost eagerly.</p><p>Cathy smiled. “Well, we need to see an actual doctor about this. Are you okay with that?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Anne said before pausing and giving Cathy a worried look. “Can we wait until after the appointment to tell the queens? Just in case we’re wrong?”</p><p>“Of course.” Cathy answered with understanding. “I’ll call the doctor later today then.”</p><p>So, the two left the room, Cathy grabbing her notebook along the way. They separated as Cathy headed for the living room and Anne went back upstairs to the attic. But before Cathy could settle, she heard a shout accompanied by a small string of French curses.</p><p>“WHAT?! COME ON, I WAS GOING TO WIN THIS ONE!”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The doctor’s appointment confirmed it. Anne had ADHD. The next morning she would be started on medication that would hopefully help. On the walk home, Cathy called the other queens so they would be ready to talk when Anne and herself returned home.</p><p>But Anne was filled with anxiety.</p><p>What if the medication didn’t help? What if the other queens hated her for this?</p><p>“The doctor said to call if he needs to change the prescription or dosage and the others could never hate you.” Cathy suddenly spoke up.</p><p>“What?” Anne asked, head swiveling to look at Cathy, who gave her a smirk.</p><p>“You were speaking out loud.”</p><p>Anne winced. “Right… Sorry.”</p><p>“Don’t be sorry.” But before either could say anything else, they reached the door. “Are you ready to go in?”</p><p>“I have to at some point, might as well just do it.” Anne said, hiding her nervousness with a smile.</p><p>Cathy nodded and led Anne through the front door. They found the other queens sitting in the living room, waiting for them. They all gave the two smiles as they made their way over to sit down with them.</p><p>There was a stretch of silence as four queens wondered why the meeting was called and the other two tried to think of what to say.</p><p>“So, Cathy and I just went to the doctor.” Anne finally got out. Immediately, everyone else looked concerned.</p><p>“The doctor? Do either of you feel sick at all?” Jane asked quickly.</p><p>“No, no.” Cathy answered quickly. “It was about… something else.”</p><p>“Do you guys know what ADHD is?” Anne was the one who asked.</p><p>Several confused and negative responses was the answer.</p><p>“Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” Cathy said. She was the one who launched into the explanation, Anne chipping in with her own information every now and then.</p><p>The queens were all very attentive, asking questions and responding with kindness.</p><p>“So, I start my medication tomorrow, too…” Anne finished.</p><p>“That’s wonderful, Anne!” Jane said kindly.</p><p>“Is there anything else we need to know?” Anna asked.</p><p>“I dunno, just… be there I guess? And understand?” Anne said with a shrug. Honestly, she didn’t know what they could do differently.</p><p>All the other queens nodded.</p><p>“Why don’t we order pizza and bring the switch downstairs?” Kat spoke up, climbing to her feet. “We can have a tournament.”</p><p>“I’ll order the pizza.” Jane replied. Then she turned to Cathy. “Cathy, would you like to help me get out some chips as well?”</p><p>She received a smile and nod in response as the author followed her to the kitchen.</p><p>“I’ll get the switch if you get the games.” Anna offered to the pink queen, following her up the stairs.</p><p>As the other queens made their way to gather what they needed, Catherine slowly took hold of Anne’s hand. This earned her a beaming smile.</p><p>“I’m proud of you.” Catherine said gently.</p><p>It took Anne a moment to respond, but when she did she gave Catherine a grin. “I think I’m proud of myself too.”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The next morning, Anne would begin her medication. None of the other queens would make a big deal other than small questions of how she felt later in the day. But they all did their own research, finding ways to help their fellow queen as well as to make sure they didn’t do anything they shouldn’t.</p><p>Whenever Anne had a nightmare, that she didn’t wake up screaming from, or simply couldn’t sleep, she made an effort to begin going to any of the other queens. They all welcomed her with open arms. When she did wake up screaming, everyone was always there in seconds.</p><p>Anne became just as happy as before, resuming her normal pranks and jokes that lightened up the household. Everyone found it a relief when Anna woke up with erasable marker all over her face, although they wouldn’t admit it.</p><p>Everything was still hard for her, but she was getting better.</p><p>As far as Anne was concerned, Henry could lose his head.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translations according to google:<br/>Querida = darling<br/>Mére = mother<br/>Verrücktes Mädchen = crazy girl<br/>Merde = shit<br/>je suis navrée = I’m so sorry<br/>Chaton = kitty<br/>Laisse-moi = let go of me<br/>Je ne veux pas mourir = I don’t want to die<br/>Henry s’il te plait = Henry please<br/>je ne peux pas = I can’t<br/>Ils vont me tuer = they’re going to kill me<br/>Bandeau = blindfold<br/>Accueil = home</p><p>I’m afraid I don’t know too much about mental disorders like this. So please keep in mind that I am by no means an expert on mental health! I just use the internet and research!</p><p>I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next one should be out soon enough!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Jane Seymour</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jane Seymour thought she was getting better. But of course, life has the worst ways of throwing you back to square one.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I HAVE RETURNED! </p><p>This probably could have been out a little sooner... but it’s like I kept getting dragged away from writing and when I finally had the chance, I would immediately get distracted by something else! This also somehow gained more words than the first two chapters and I honestly don’t know how to explain that...</p><p>But hey! It’s here now!</p><p>As always, check the new tags (hopefully updated by now!) and I hope you guys enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In her past life, Jane Seymour was bound to observe and serve.</p><p>That was just how it went. Henry was nice and caring at the beginning. Jane truly thought she was in love.</p><p>But as Boleyn was beheaded, and the pressure for an heir increased, so too did Henry’s temper. He never hit her. No, Henry was too desperate for a wife who could possibly provide an heir to do that.</p><p>Rather, he criticized every little mistake Jane made. Yelled and screamed.</p><p>If there were no mistakes, Henry was sweet to her. Lavishing her with gifts of jewelry and expensive trinkets. Promises of a wonderful life by his side.</p><p>But the rage always came back eventually.</p><p>It only stopped when Jane became pregnant. Then, Henry became the doting husband Jane originally thought she had gained.</p><p>But the damage had already been done.</p><p>Now, everything Jane did wrong was filled with anxiety that someone would scream at her. But no one in this new life did such a thing. Instead, they playfully scolded her for apologizing and helped her fix whatever mistake had been made.</p><p>And Jane started to get better. She apologized less. She became more outspoken, joking with  and teasing the other queens.</p><p>None of the other queens asked questions as to why there were so many anxious apologies. They had their own secrets and they would let Jane keep hers hidden until she wanted to reveal them.</p><p>Jane thought she was getting better. But then one nightmare seemed to pull her back to where she started.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Jane wasn’t sure what she had done this time. But she was crouched on the floor, a mess staining the carpeted flooring.</p><p>Henry was standing tall above her. He was ranting angrily.</p><p>“Can you ever do anything right?!”</p><p>“Henry please—!”</p><p>“Honestly! You are always doing something stupid, you idiot!”</p><p>This went on for several very long minutes. Countless words and curses flying out of the furious king’s mouth.</p><p>“I promise you it will not happen again.” Jane finally whispered as Henry paused his rants to take a breath.</p><p>“Make sure of it. I wouldn’t want you to end up like that Boleyn girl. Now clean this up!” Henry growled as he stalked off, leaving Jane behind, sobbing on the floor.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Jane cried herself awake. Just like in the dream, tears were falling down her cheeks.</p><p>She took deep breaths, struggling to calm her racing heart.</p><p>Up until this point, Jane had only one other nightmare about Henry’s rage. That was back when they were first reincarnated. Every other nightmare she had until now was dreams of the future she could have had, should she had lived. Dreams of her baby boy growing up with his mother still there. It had been a while since she even thought about one of Henry’s rages.</p><p>But this dream, it seemed to overpower every rational thought Jane has as she fought to calm herself down.</p><p>Henry would appear and scream for a mistake any second. Perhaps one of the other queens would take his place.</p><p>Jane quickly shook her head trying to snap herself away from that train of thought. But still, the thought lingered.</p><p>Perhaps she simply needed to start her day. It wasn’t too early.</p><p>So she got out of bed and put on her day clothes before heading down the hall, setting straight to work.</p><p>Soon, she had all of her morning chores completed. She started the pot of coffee for everyone, wiped down the kitchen, dusted the living room, and even had time to organize the bookshelf in the living room’s corner.</p><p>But even after everything was completed, none of the other queens had awoken.</p><p>So Jane grabbed her favorite book from the bookshelf and settled into the couch.</p><p>As she flicked through pages, faintly registering the words, a sleepy haze seemed to overcome her. Soon enough, the book dropped to the side, and Jane fell into sleep.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>When Catherine came downstairs, she knew Jane would probably be awake. Almost every morning, the other queen was awake by the time Catherine awoke.</p><p>So she wasn’t surprised to see Jane on the couch.</p><p>But she was surprised to see her asleep. Asleep and crying.</p><p>Tears were falling down Jane’s cheeks, causing a flame of worry to spark in Catherine’s heart.</p><p>“Jane?” Catherine asked gently as she sat next to the woman, placing a hand on Jane’s shoulder.</p><p>Jane woke with a start, a sort of sobbing noise bubbling from her throat. She squinted through her tears at Catherine.</p><p>“Catherine?” She mumbled.</p><p>“That’s right, Paloma.” Catherine said. “What happened?”</p><p>Jane seemed to break down further. This was the first time someone had caught her in the middle of one of these dreams. No one had ever asked about the life she dreamed of.</p><p>Catherine froze slightly as Jane cried almost silently. She gently reached a hand over and placed it on Jane’s shoulder. The silver queen leaned into the touch.</p><p>“I dreamed of Edward.” Jane eventually sobbed out. “What life could have been.”</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Catherine took a deep breath. She has had that same dream before with her Mary.</p><p>“I understand.” Catherine said slowly. “I have had that exact dream.”</p><p>“Does it hurt you too?” Jane asked, looking up to meet Catherine’s eyes.</p><p>Catherine’s gaze softened as she fully took in the tear streaked face. “My heart aches are not just phantom pains, Paloma.”</p><p>“There was so much I dreamed of.” Jane confessed. Catherine grabbed a tissue from the box on the table and handed it to Jane, who began wiping her tears.</p><p>“So much that there could’ve been.” Catherine finished. She looked to the side as she continued. “But we can't go back. We can only move forward.”</p><p>“That won’t stop memories.” Jane objected, shaking her head.</p><p>“No. It won’t.” Catherine agreed with a hum. “But we can make ourselves new dreams. New families.”</p><p>“I have the five of you as a family.” Jane said, but her smile didn’t fully meet her eyes as she continued. “But you never forget your child.”</p><p>“You can never forget your child.” Catherine repeated solemnly, nodding in agreement with her eyes holding a wistful gaze.</p><p>Jane hummed her agreement before speaking again.</p><p>“Thank you, Catalina.”</p><p>Catherine paused for a moment before chuckling fondly. The moment Anne began calling her by her real name, she knew the others wouldn’t be far behind. She was honestly surprised it took this long for another queen to start using that name.</p><p>“Of course, Paloma.”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Later in the morning, after Jane’s tears had fully dried and both women found their composure, Anna had come down the stairs, bidding the two queens farewell as she set out for her morning run.</p><p>Minutes after that, Anne came racing down the stairs. She halted behind the couch, beaming at the two staring queens.</p><p>“Who wants to help me make pancakes?!” Anne said excitedly, bypassing any greetings.</p><p>“I’ll pass.” Catherine said, but her smile betrayed her dry tone.</p><p>“I can.” Jane agreed as she stood, her own smile on her face. Anne beamed right back and she trotted to the kitchen, Jane following in her steps.</p><p>“Usually Kat and Cathy are up before you are.” Jane started a conversation as she pulled down the pancake mix.</p><p>“Chaton had a bad night last night. She’s with Cathy right now. I wanted to let them sleep longer.” Anne explained, a sad smile on her face as she grabbed the eggs and milk. “That’s also why I wanted to make pancakes for them!”</p><p>“Wonderful idea.” Jane said happily. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy the pancakes.”</p><p>Anne grinned at Jane and shrugged. “That’s what I’m hoping for! We’ll have pancakes and everyone will be cheered up, Chaton especially!”</p><p>“And you’ll take your medicine at breakfast too?” Jane asked gently. These small reminders were normal for the silver queen, and they weren’t purely directed at Anne. Every queen was asked small questions by Jane almost daily.</p><p>“I always do, Mère!” Anne said with a smirk, striding over to the cabinets and pulling the bottle down. She placed it on the kitchen table before making her way back to Jane and hopping to sit up on the counter, next to the oven.</p><p>Jane gave her an unimpressed, yet amused, look and Anne simply grinned right back, swinging her legs slightly.</p><p>Several seconds passed before Jane noticed something was wrong with the batter.</p><p>It was far more puffy than it should have been. She frowned and after it cooked and cooled, she took a bite. It tasted almost chalky.</p><p>Anne also took a bite and began looking over the ingredients list and measuring cups. “Merde… Too much baking powder.”</p><p>Then, Anne heard footsteps. She glanced behind her and saw that Jane was the source.</p><p>She had begun pacing and glancing at the door, almost as if waiting for someone to burst in.</p><p>Unknown to Anne, she was doing exactly that. She was waiting for Henry to come in and howl at her mistake. Just like in her nightmare. She had made a mistake and Henry would come barging in again. If not him someone else would. Perhaps Anne would turn around and begin scolding her—</p><p>But a body blocked her from her pacing and took a gentle hold of her hands, which had been entwining together rapidly from anxiety.</p><p>Jane’s mind focused and she found Anne standing in front of her.</p><p>“Hey, Jane, it’s okay. It’s just a little extra baking powder. We can make another batch and try again.”</p><p>“What?” Jane was clearly confused. Where was the screaming?</p><p>“We can make another batch.” Anne stated, tilting her head slightly.</p><p>There was several seconds of silence.</p><p>“Why aren’t you angry?” Jane practically whispered.</p><p>There was silence for several seconds as Anne regarded Jane.</p><p>“Remember that time Lina and I baked everyone a cake?” Anne eventually asked.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Well, I originally tried to make it on my own. I got distracted by something and it got completely burnt! Smoke and everything!” Anne explained with a laugh. It wasn’t funny at the time but now she looked back and thought it was kinda funny. “Lina came down and had to help me clean up everything and also bake a new one.”</p><p>Jane seemed to understand why she was being told this story, but she didn’t speak up, prompting Anne to continue.</p><p>“Point is, everyone makes mistakes.” Anne elaborated, giving Jane a smile as she pulled the pan off the burner. “I’m not gonna get angry over something I easily could have done myself!”</p><p>“I… really?” Jane blinked almost owlishly.</p><p>“Yep! Help me make a new batch?” Anne asked simply as she pulled out the extra mix they had.</p><p>Jane didn’t respond, instead making her way over and pulling out another bowl from the cabinet. She gave Anne a small smile as she sat it down.</p><p>So they made a new batch of batter. Jane slowly calming down as they did so. Although, there was still a small spike of anxiety piercing her chest. And as Jane placed some batter into the frying pan, Anne spoke up.</p><p>“Hey Jane?” Anne asked. This earned her a small hum, showing that Jane was listening.</p><p>“Do you know what Mère means?”</p><p>Jane looked very curious. “No, no I don’t. But I’ve heard you call me that before.”</p><p>Anne’s cheeks were flushed. “Well, it means mother.”</p><p>Jane froze, staring wide eyed at Anne. “Mother—?”</p><p>Anne grinned shyly, rubbing her scar. “I can stop calling you that if it makes you uncomfortable.”</p><p>Jane did think about it for a second. Perhaps she was one of the more motherly queens. And if a nickname gave Anne and the others comfort, she wouldn’t protest. Well, maybe she would protest playfully. She also couldn’t deny the swell of happiness. She never got to be a mother and she had heard of people being the ‘mom friend,’ to use modern terms.</p><p>“Well, I can certainly say I’m caught off guard.” Jane said slowly before smiling. “But I can’t say I’m against it, I suppose.”</p><p>“Even if I’m older than you?” Anne said teasingly.</p><p>Jane let out a laugh before teasing right back. “Only physically. Even then you are still shorter.”</p><p>“Wh—! Hey!” Anne said as she burst into laughter. But she couldn’t deny how happy she was that Jane had returned to her normal self.</p><p>After their laughter ended, Anne hummed before quickly pulling Jane into a hug. “Thank you for being there for us, Mère. You should let us be there for you too.”</p><p>Jane paused before wrapping her arms around Anne in return. “I’ll try.”</p><p>“All I can ask. And Jane? Whoever yelled at you in the past life? None of us are like them.”</p><p>“I… I know.”</p><p>“Good, good, now help me get this pancake off the pan before it burns!”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>After breakfast, everyone separated to do their own things. Jane remained behind, washing the dishes. Cathy also stayed in the kitchen, sitting at the counter with her notebook, where she was bathed in a patch of sunlight.</p><p>There were small stretches of silence between peaceful chatter as Cathy wrote ideas in one of the many notebooks she was seen with.</p><p>Jane couldn’t stop thinking about what Anne said. Jane knew none of the queens were like Henry. Truly she did. But memories overpowered that knowing. She was back in the darkness of uncertainty.</p><p>Jane glanced over to the counter. She saw Cathy frowning at an empty thermos. Jane chuckled and took the thermos from her before proceeding to the coffee pot.</p><p>“I don’t think this much caffeine is healthy.”</p><p>“Yet, you are getting me more.” Cathy teased gently.</p><p>“Hmm, I suppose I am.” Jane said with a small laugh as she made her way back to the counter.</p><p>Jane placed the refilled thermos in front of Cathy, but as she turned, her elbow managed to hit it.</p><p>The thermos tilted and fell. Coffee poured over the counter, quickly soaking Cathy’s notebook in the process.</p><p>Cathy stared wide eyed at the notebook, and Jane immediately thought the girl would blow up at her. She remembered the time Anna accidentally tore a page out before breakfast. Cathy had freaked out at Anna and didn’t come out of her room until well after dinner.</p><p>But Cathy closed her eyes, took a deep inhale and then exhaled. She repeated this several times before opening her eyes and looking at Jane again.</p><p>“I’m not angry.” Cathy said slowly. Unknown to Jane, Cathy was reassuring herself too. “I only started using this notebook this morning. I can get a new one and rewrite what I have so far.”</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Cathy!” Jane said, hurriedly grabbing paper towels and patting the counter down.</p><p>God, this was the second mistake she had made today.</p><p>Jane remembered the time she had spilt ink on Henry’s pages in the study. That was one of the worst rages Jane had ever seen him in. And now, Cathy would blow up at her too, just like she had at Anna and just like Henry had raged at Jane.</p><p>Hands calmly caught her wrists. Jane’s head jolted up to stare at Cathy. The girl had stood up from her seat and was reaching over the counter. She wasn’t meeting Jane’s eyes, instead looking at the paper towels in her grip.</p><p>“It’s okay. I promise.”</p><p>Jane felt disbelief. “I… Are you sure?”</p><p>Cathy let out a small laugh, quickly taking back her hands. “I’m sure. I haven’t even finished one page in that notebook. I’ll just get another.”</p><p>“But what about that time with Anna?”</p><p>Cathy noticabley tensed at the reminder. “That notebook was almost completely filled. Also I’ve been looking online at ways to keep myself from blowing up. I’m not mad, Jane. I promise.”</p><p>“I… okay.” Jane was still dumbstruck.</p><p>“Here, let me help clean it up. Then I’ll go get another notebook.” Cathy said, rounding the counter to take more paper towels.</p><p>After that, there was silence as both women cleaned up the spilled drink and soaked notebook, both caught in different thoughts.</p><p>Jane was still pulling herself from the past, still anxious that there would inevitably be yelling. Cathy was wondering what had made Jane so panicked over her notebook. Perhaps Cathy’s shouting match with Anna?</p><p>But both kept their thoughts silent to the other.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Jane couldn’t keep herself still. She had to be doing something to distract her mind. So she began tidying up her own room.</p><p>But still, even with the distraction, there was a constant anxiety in the back of her mind. Anne and Cathy had calmed her down. They didn’t scream at her. But still, Jane’s mind told her that eventually someone would. Be it another queen, Henry, or simply a stranger.</p><p>She needed to find a way to calm herself back down.</p><p>Maybe a cup of water? Yes, perhaps a cup of water would help.</p><p>So Jane made her way from her room into the kitchen, pulling down a glass from the cupboards. But as she pulled back from the cupboard, a voice startled her.</p><p>“Hey, Jane—!”</p><p>Jane yelped in surprise and the glass toppled out of her hand. Jane fumbled for it but the glass hit the floor and shattered.</p><p>Jane felt like an icy pressure had taken hold of her chest. Somehow, this was worse than when she ruined Cathy’s notebook. Worse because she didn’t know who was present. She just knew that the person may yell and scream and for all she knew, it could be Henry.</p><p>In fact, Henry’s screams came rushing back to her mind. They sounded so real that Jane was very convinced the man was present.</p><p>She needed to clean the glass up before anyone else showed up. But there was no broom. She didn’t have to time to go get one—</p><p>“Jane! Stop!” A voice cried and Jane felt her vision clear.</p><p>Jane froze as she stared at her hands. At some point, she had begun picking up the shards with her bare hands, cutting her hands and fingers. Her hands were shaking as some of the shards slid from her hands, dripping blood with them.</p><p>Kat was the one who spoke, crouched next to Jane with wide eyes.</p><p>“I—!”</p><p>Kat’s eyes softened. “Stay right there, okay? I’ll get cleaning supplies and the first aid.”</p><p>After making sure Jane wouldn’t try to pick up the glass anymore, Kat quickly darted off. Jane simply sat there staring at her bloodied hands, trying to take deep breaths and quash the anxiety.</p><p>It didn’t take long for Kat to return, needed items in hand. The first thing she did was quickly sweep the glass into one big pile off to the side before quickly crouching back in front of Jane.</p><p>Kat tensed slightly at the blood and inhaled through her teeth upon seeing the shards of glass still stuck in Jane’s hands. Luckily, they were big enough that Kat soon managed to pull them out.</p><p>Jane let herself fade out, struggling to control her breathing and bite back pained cries. The screams of rage still pricked at the back of her mind.</p><p>Kat’s voice snapped Jane back to reality.</p><p>In the time she had been out of it, Kat had managed to clean her hands and bandage them.</p><p>“Jane?” Kat asked gently, moving to meet Jane’s eyes. “Are you okay now?”</p><p>Jane bit her lip before settling on; “I will be.”</p><p>Kat seemed unsure but nodded her head, moving to her next question. “What happened?”</p><p>“I’m…” Jane paused. “I’m not sure.”</p><p>Jane was only half sure of what happened. She knew she dropped the glass, and she swear she heard Henry’s voice yelling. But besides that, it was mostly a blur.</p><p>“Well, I think you had a panic attack.” Kat stated gently.</p><p>Jane paused. She recalled what she had learned about panic attacks and realized that Kat was exactly right.</p><p>“I… I think so.” She agreed slowly. Her mind was still shifting back to the present. Her eyes trailed over to the pile of glass and winced before turning back to Kat. “I’m sorry about the glass.”</p><p>“There’s nothing to apologize for.” Kat said as she shook her head, refusing to let Jane fall into that mind space. “Come on, why don’t we get you some painkillers? Then I’ll clean up the mess.”</p><p>Kat helped Jane stand and make it to the counter before quickly finding painkillers and a new glass of water.</p><p>There was a very long stretch of silence as Jane took the painkillers.</p><p>Finally, Kat spoke up, but she seemed very wary of her own question. “Jane? Can I ask what caused your attack?”</p><p>Jane’s mouth felt dry at the question, despite the water she just drank. “I would rather forget about it, Katherine…”</p><p>Kat winced at her full name. “Alright… but I'll be here if you need me.”</p><p>“I think I’ll head back to my room.” Jane managed to say as she stood and practically stumbled to the door. “Thank you for the assistance, Kat.”</p><p>Kat watched her go with full concern, but didn’t try to stop her. “Okay… But if you need anything please come to one of us.”</p><p>Jane numbly felt herself nodding as she made it out the kitchen door.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>After closing her door, Jane began pacing. She stared down at her shaking hands.</p><p>The bandages and dull, throbbing pain were a mark. A mark of one of the many mistakes she had made in just one day.</p><p>She told Kat she would rather forget, but her mind refused to do so.</p><p>Soon Henry would slam through the door, roaring and bellowing his rage, just as he should have done hours before.</p><p>The rational part of Jane’s mind knew that would never happen. Henry was dead and buried (right beside your own body, a traitorous voice whispered. Jane ignored it.) and he had been that way for hundreds of years.</p><p>But the years of anxiety, pressure, and mistreatment came flooding back due to one nightmare and Jane couldn’t stop her mind from racing with the possibility of Henry’s return.</p><p>So she paced and paced in her room. Her mind filled with everything that could go wrong. Everything that could turn this life, the life where she was finally happy, into a nightmare.</p><p>Jane was going to be sick.</p><p>She raced out of the room and to the bathroom. If she hadn’t been as frantic, she would have noticed someone in red watching her before swiftly following.</p><p>As soon as she had her face over the toilet, Jane began vomiting. Bile, breakfast, and her lunch exited her throat. After that, Jane continued to dry heave.</p><p>As she sat hunched over the toilet, she felt gentle hands pull her hair back.</p><p>“Let it out, Liebling.” A voice murmured. Jane continued coughing and gagging as the voice held her hair back and ran their other hand up and down her back.</p><p>Eventually, the heaving subsided and Jane could only sit there, breathing heavily.</p><p>“Why don’t we head back to your room?” The voice, that Jane now recognized as Anna, asked. Jane managed a nod and allowed Anna to help her to her feet as the red queen flushed the toilet.</p><p>Miraculously, they ran into no one else and Anna had Jane back in her room in seconds.</p><p>“Let me go get you a cup of water and a cloth. I’ll be right back.” Anna said as Jane took a seat on the bed. She was out of the room as quickly as she came in. She soon returned with a glass of water and a damp rag.</p><p>“Thank you.” Jane rasped politely as she took the water.</p><p>After taking small sips of water and wiping down her face, Jane looked pleadingly at Anna, who took a seat next to her.</p><p>“Please don’t tell the others…”</p><p>Anna paused for a second before letting out a sigh as she gave Jane a smile. “I’ll only tell them if you want me too.” Then her face twisted to concern. “But… are you sick? I can run to the store.”</p><p>“No! I—!” Jane froze. She looked to the ground, refusing to meet Anna’s eyes. “Cathy has mentioned that anxiety can make you sick.”</p><p>Anna’s brows furrowed before her smile became a sad one. “Then, would you like to talk about what made you that anxious, Liebling?”</p><p>“I don’t know…”</p><p>“You don’t have to tell me. But if you ever do want to, then I’m right here.”</p><p>Jane paused for a moment. This was normally something she never really told anyone about. In her past life, everyone brushed her off so she eventually stopped trying.</p><p>But Anna… Anna was always patient, and listened when someone came to her. She listened to every single queen, including Jane. She was the confident pillar everyone went to. Although, Jane sometimes wished the red queen would talk to them in return.</p><p>Jane knows that Anna is someone she can trust. So she opened her mouth to speak and everything seemed to flood out.</p><p>“I’ve been making so many mistakes today! And it feels like Henry will be here, screaming, any second now! And I can’t—!” Jane broke off into a sob.</p><p>Anna immediately pulled Jane into her side, her grip slowly pulling Jane back to the present. Jane managed to hear Anna mutter a German curse or two, directed at Henry before she spoke clearly again.</p><p>“Henry is dead, liebling. He will never come back.” Anna soothed, her voice strong with certainty. “And I hope you know by now that none of us in this house would ever scream at you over a simple mistake.”</p><p>Jane moved so her face was buried in Anna’s shoulder. “I thought I was getting better. I really thought I was. But last night I just… I had a nightmare… I made another mistake, Henry wouldn’t stop yelling. And then I woke up, and I’ve been making mistakes all day… I’m back where I started, Anna.”</p><p>“First, thank you for trusting me with this, Liebling.” Anna said gently, her hand rubbing up and down Jane’s arm in a soothing gesture. “Second, I think you should tell the others.”</p><p>“What?” Jane asked immediately, pulling back slightly to look Anna in the eyes.</p><p>“I’m not forcing you to tell them. That is your call.” Anna reassured calmly. “I’m just telling you that they dealt with Henry too. They will listen and they will understand.” Then, she reiterated;  “None of us would ever hurt you, Liebling. Physically or mentally.”</p><p>Jane thought about it and knew Anna was right. Henry was probably just as horrible, if not even more so, to all the other queens in the household. They had been understanding and patient throughout the entire day and also through the past months. She wanted to get her anxieties off her chest. And there was no one better to talk to than the women who had been through their own scary situations with the same man. Not to mention, these five women were more like family than anyone had ever been to her. She could say with certainty that she trusted them with her life.</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>“You’re certain that this is your choice?” Anna questioned seriously. “I don't want to force you…”</p><p>“Yes, I’m certain. But… Can we stay here for a while?” Jane asked quietly, tucking her head back into Anna’s shoulder.</p><p>“Whatever you want to do, Liebling.” Anna agreed with a small laugh. “Now, am I allowed to ask why you have bandages on your hands?”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Eventually, the two separated and made their way down the hall to the living room. It was after dinner by this point and the queens were all seated around the living room. Kat stole one end of the couch, Catherine and Cathy taking claim of the armchairs, with Anne splayed out on the floor.</p><p>Everyone glanced up upon seeing the two final queens enter the room. They were about to give greetings when they seemed to notice the anxiety on Jane’s face, and Anna’s arm wrapped securely around the third queen. Their eyes also trailed to Jane’s bandaged hands. But Kat had noticeably warned them about it.</p><p>“Are you guys okay?” Anne was the one who spoke as she sat up.</p><p>“I want to talk to you all about my anxieties.” Jane went straight to the point, nervously folding her hands together.</p><p>Everyone straightened almost unconsciously. They had a very good idea of what caused the anxiety, but they never had proof. Of course, the idea revolves around a certain ex.</p><p>“Are you sure, Paloma?” Catherine asked gently, closing her book. “We don’t want you to feel forced.”</p><p>“I’m sure… I want to get this off my chest.” Jane admitted. Jane made her way over to the couch and took a seat, Anna sticking by her side.</p><p>There was silence for several seconds. The queens did not want to push Jane. Anna gently laid a hand on the center of Jane’s back. This seemed to encourage the silver queen into speaking up as she leaned back into the touch. Her eyes were glued to the floor.</p><p>“Henry… there was always something I was doing wrong.” Jane said, refusing to look anyone in the eye. “It didn’t matter what it was or no matter how many times I did it. It was always wrong.”</p><p>The queens all winced. Their suspicions were right.</p><p>“He would yell and scream. He always did it when no one important was around.” Jane continued, shrinking in on herself slightly.</p><p>“Did he… ever do anything physical?” It was Kat who asked.</p><p>“No… but there were always… threats.”</p><p>“What kind of threats?” Anna asked in a low tone, her eyes narrowing.</p><p>“The most common one?” Then in a shaky voice, Jane quoted; “You don’t want to end up like that Boleyn girl, do you?”</p><p>There was an immediate shift in the air as every single queen gained a scowl on their face. Jane was also half sure she heard Anne letting out a low growl.</p><p>“Of fucking course he did.” Anne spat. “Tête de noeud.”</p><p>“I for one, am not surprised.” Cathy huffed, Kat quickly nodding her agreement.</p><p>“Beheading always was one of his favorite threats.” The pink queen noted.</p><p>“It wasn’t just Henry. There was also a constant pressure to be perfect. Henry. The court. The people. They all pressured me to be perfect.” Jane confessed, clenching her fists so tight that her knuckles turned white. “There was no making mistakes. God forbid I couldn’t give Henry his heir.”</p><p>“It all only changed when I got pregnant.” Jane finished. “Henry became the husband I originally thought he would be. The only mistake I could make then was either having a girl, or a miscarriage.”</p><p>The queens had been silent during the rest of Jane’s tale.</p><p>“Even the ‘most loved’ was put through Hell.” Anne spoke as she shook her head sadly, making quotes with her fingers as she said ‘most loved.’</p><p>“All that is over, Liebling.” Anna said. “Thank god, Henry isn’t walking on the Earth.”</p><p>“And we will never yell at you for a mistake.” Kat said, determination tracing her features. “That was Henry, not us.”</p><p>“I know… I know that.” Jane said with a sad smile. “I just had a nightmare last night. Of Henry.”</p><p>Understanding dawned on four of the six queens. Why she had been so anxious whenever there was a mistake. She kept remembering Henry.</p><p>“If you have a nightmare like that, come to any of us.” Cathy stated quickly. “We have each other now.”</p><p>This earned her a grateful smile and nod from the silver queen. “I will.”</p><p>“Let us help with the chores more too.” Catherine spoke up next, watching Jane carefully. “I know that we have our weekly thing and that it’s something for you to do. I understand that. But we don’t want you to overwork yourself.”</p><p>“I think I can do that.” Jane agreed with a nod. She wasn’t sure how easy it would be to actually do it. But she could try.</p><p>After that confirmation, everyone switched gears, offering anxiety techniques that they themselves used or found online. Cathy’s idea especially stuck out for Jane.</p><p>“What do you like to do to pass the time, Jane?” Cathy spoke up, watching the silver queen.</p><p>Jane seemed caught off guard by the question. “My interests? Well… I do like baking. And knitting was something I loved to do in the past life. Although I haven’t gotten much of a chance to do it recently…”</p><p>“Well, you can use those things to calm yourself down.” Cathy explained, giving Jane a small smile. “Something you love to do can help calm you.”</p><p>“A way to get your mind off things?” It was Catherine who asked.</p><p>“That’s a way to look at it, yes.” Cathy agreed with a small laugh.</p><p>“Ah… then is it alright if we do some sewing now?” Jane asked, almost sheepishly. While the talk helped greatly, there was still a small surge of anxiety in her chest.</p><p>“Are you sure you can do that with your hands?” Kat spoke up, a worried frown on her face.</p><p>“I still would like to try.”</p><p>The others chuckled and Catherine and Cathy were both out of their seats and out of the room. </p><p>As they left, Anna pressed herself a little closer to Jane and whispered in her ear. “I’m proud of you Liebling. And I’m sorry you’re going through all of this.”</p><p>“Thank you, Anna.” Jane replied, her smile the happiest it had been all day. “I have all of you now… and thank you for convincing me to tell them.”</p><p>“I convinced you to do nothing.” Anna said with a small chuckle. “Telling everyone was your decision.”</p><p>“A good one?”</p><p>“Well, that’s also up to you.”</p><p>Jane glanced at Anne and Kat, who were talking about their past sewing experiences, and at Catherine and Cathy, who had returned with the needed materials.</p><p>“I think it was.”</p><p>“Then it was a good decision.” Anna said simply, earning a laugh from the silver queen.</p><p>Everyone began chatting happily as they grabbed needles and thread. Jane being very cautious of the bandages around her hands. She fumbled slightly, but soon had a steady hand.</p><p>“Are you not going to sew, Cathy?” Catherine asked her goddaughter.</p><p>Sure enough, Cathy had grabbed her notebook and a cup of hot chocolate (at Jane’s insistence to not drink coffee after dinner) and was perched back in her armchair.</p><p>“Ah. I’ve never really liked sewing, sorry.” Cathy apologized.</p><p>“That’s alright!” Jane said happily, most of her anxieties slowly fading as she grabbed some thread. “What is your new story about?”</p><p>Cathy’s eyes lit up and as the girl began ranting about the new story, Jane glanced around the room.</p><p>Looking around at the women who had become so much like family, Jane knew exactly what her new project would be.</p><p>Over the course of many days, everyone would smile when they saw their own faces and colors appear on a sewn tapestry, one by one.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Jane Seymour has dealt with years of abuse. She knew it would be hard to get better.</p><p>But the other queens understood better than they did before. They helped Jane whenever something broke, or a minor mistake was made. Gentle reassurances fought back against the anxiety.</p><p>She used Cathy’s anxiety techniques as well. Focused on her baking, sewing, and caretaking. Breathing exercises helped calm both her mind and heartbeat.</p><p>And as Jane watched the faces appear on the tapestry, and heard the laughter of whom the faces belonged to, she knew that everything was okay.</p><p>Jane Seymour was no longer bound to observe and serve.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translate (courtesy of our friend google):<br/>Paloma = dove (doves are considered a symbol of motherhood)<br/>Chaton = kitty<br/>Mère = mother<br/>Merde = shit<br/>Liebling = love<br/>Tête de noeud = knothead (this insult is apparently more rude than d-head and is courtesy of a website!)</p><p>Three down, three to go! Hopefully our favorite red queen’s chapter won’t take too long.</p><p>I don’t think I have anything else to add, so I hope you all enjoyed and I’ll see you next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Anna of Cleves</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Anna of Cleves was seen as the strongest of the queens. The queen who came out of the marriage unscathed with a palace and riches.</p><p>But that was wrong. Anna did not divorce unscathed. And the others have noticed.</p><p>OR: the other queens finally get the chance to help Anna and protect her, just like she has done for them.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Anna of Cleves was seen as the most fortunate of the six wives. She divorced happily and gained riches out of it. Everyone across history seemed to agree that she came out of the marriage unscathed and without any problems.</p><p>That was far from the truth.</p><p>Ever since reincarnation, Anna became a pillar of support for the other wives. She tried to calm down the major arguments and was always there for someone to talk to or even just cry on.</p><p>But inside, Anna struggled with multiple problems.</p><p>When no one was looking, Anna pulled up a picture she had saved on her phone. A photo of her portrait. She would stare at it for what seemed like hours. Comparing her own face to the face created by an artist. Her own face to the face the king wanted.</p><p>She also had nightmares. Nightmares of the other queens, her family’s, deaths. Sometimes, it was all of them, either one by one or all at the same time. Other times, it would be exclusively one queen. The day after one of these nightmares, she would keep a closer eye on everyone.</p><p>The problems Anna dealt with seemed small enough that rarely anyone mentioned them. Whenever they tried, Anna would brush them off. She would claim to be fine and go about her day. Everyone had their own problems to deal with, she told herself.</p><p>In reality, Anna would soon find that as much as she protected the other queens, they would do the exact same for her if the circumstances called for it.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Anna’s dream had started just like always.</p><p>Peaceful, this time it was hunting in her past life. But it always morphed and shifted, became something different. She was in front of the Tower of London now.</p><p>She couldn’t move. She couldn’t help. She was forced to stand and watch as the people closest to her died.</p><p>This time, it was Kat and Anne. The cousins were on their knees, high atop the wooden scaffolding. Anna would struggle and push against the faceless crowd. But as her hand touched the cold wood, metal came down, ending two innocent lives.</p><p>After waking up, it only took seconds for Anna to be out of her bed. She remained quiet as she swiftly moved down the hall. Luckily the women she was looking for shared the same floor as her.</p><p>Anne’s room was right next to hers, so Anna made that her first stop.</p><p>Anna cracked open the door. Anne was curled up under her blankets, which were thrown in disarray around her. She couldn’t stop the sigh of relief that escaped her lips.</p><p>Anne shifted and her eyes fluttered open, causing Anna to freeze.</p><p>“Go the fuck back to sleep.” Anne muttered with a groan before rolling over, falling back to sleep in seconds.</p><p>Anna chuckled and quietly closed the door again. One of the cousins was safe and accounted for.</p><p>Right across the hall from Anne’s room was Kat’s room. So Anna quickly strode across the hall to the pink door. But as her hand touched the handle, she heard a noise.</p><p>Someone was whimpering.</p><p>Anna creaked open Kat’s door. Sure enough, the pink queen was moving around under her covers. She was gasping for breath now and mumbling quietly. She was asking someone to stop.</p><p>Anna felt her heart clench. But she knew the last thing to do was snap Kat awake. The queens learned that mistake the hard way.</p><p>So Anna stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. Anna didn’t know if Kat would want the others. She then padded across the room and flicked on Kat’s lamp. Kat needed to be able to tell that Anna wasn’t one of them.</p><p>After this, Anna sat on the edge of the bed, keeping her distance from Kat.</p><p>She began talking. If she couldn’t wake Kat up with touch, then she would use her voice.</p><p>“Whichever one of those bastards who’s with you isn't real, Kätzchen.”</p><p>“Wach auf, Kätzchen. Folge meiner Stimme.”</p><p>Kat was still whimpering as she thrashed, nearly nailing Anna in the shoulder.</p><p>“It’s Anna, Kätzchen! Not them!”</p><p>Finally, Kat snapped awake. Her head whipped around the room, staring with wide eyes. She stared at Anna, fearful. But the cloud in her mind soon faded as she realized who it was.</p><p>“Anna?”</p><p>“That’s right, Kätzchen.” That was all Kat needed to hear before she pressed herself into Anna’s arms.</p><p>The next several minutes were spent in consolation as Kat calmed herself down. Finally, Kat’s breathing evened out and she glanced up at Anna.</p><p>“Sorry, did I wake you?” Kat asked in a whisper as she removed herself from the embrace.</p><p>“Not at all.”</p><p>“Then… Why are you up?”</p><p>Anna pursed her lips. “Just couldn't sleep.”</p><p>Kat tilted her head, a small smile illuminated by the lamp’s light. “You know. You purse your lips when you lie.”</p><p>“Is that so?” Anna tried to play it off with a laugh.</p><p>“Anna, please. Aren’t you the one who always tells me talking helps?”</p><p>Anna let out a small sigh. Of course Kat would use her own words against her.</p><p>“Alright, alright… Sometimes… I dream about you and others’ deaths.” Anna admitted.</p><p>Kat paused before leaning over to put her head on Anna’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“It isn’t your fault, Kätzchen.” Anna shook her head. “And… I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there for you.”</p><p>“That wasn’t your fault either.” Kat said sadly. “You either couldn’t have done anything, or would have been beheaded too.”</p><p>“I still could have tried.”</p><p>“Anna. There was nothing you could have done.”</p><p>“I…” Anna finally relented. “Okay.”</p><p>“It wasn’t your fault. I know the others would say the exact same thing.” Kat said gently.</p><p>“Why don't we try to go back to sleep?” Anna asked, wanting to change the topic. Kat clearly noticed the sudden switch, but decided to go with another question instead.</p><p>“Can we do the lullaby first?”</p><p>‘The lullaby’ was a song Anna’s parents and caretakers would sing to her as a child. She always kept it in her heart. But it had been so long that Anna eventually forgot the name. Hence, ‘the lullaby.’</p><p>In their past life, when Kat was still Anna’s lady in waiting, the fourth queen had found the younger woman crying alone in a dark corner of the castle. Anna had comforted the woman, only a teenager then, and softly sang the lullaby from her childhood. Kat had quickly attached herself to the queen and at some point, asked if Anna could teach her the lullaby. Anna was pleasantly surprised and quickly agreed.</p><p>In return, Kat taught Anna more English. She was being taught by a tutor, but that tutor moved too fast for Anna to keep up. So in return for the lullaby and other German lessons, Kat gave Anna her own English lessons. Both women were incredibly happy with the arrangement.</p><p>So it continued like this, and even after Anna left the palace, Kat continued to sing the song. Whenever they met up in court, Kat would share her progress and Anna would laugh and correct what Kat had pronounced wrong. They would do the reverse with the new English words Anna had learned.</p><p>The one thing Kat had never told Anna was that she had sung the song while in the Tower. It was the one last shred of peace and happiness she had in her final days. So, as she placed her head on the block, over and over, Kat sang the song. You would believe this would lead to the song being a trigger, but somehow, it was still the complete opposite. Kat loves to believe it was because as she sang, it washed away the feelings of dread, and instead brought back memories of the simpler times with Anna.</p><p>Then, when the queens had awoken, Kat had shut down and hid in the corner of her room. Anna had been helping Anne at the time so she asked Jane to go see if Kat was awake. So Jane found Kat in the middle of a panic attack. Jane managed to calm Kat down, but the youngest queen had still refused to move, afraid that if she did, another axe would come for her head.</p><p>Jane had quickly gotten Anna. The red queen asked to be alone in the room with Kat. Of course, the pink queen recognized her immediately. So as she held Kat tightly (Anna refused to let this life die too young a second time), Anna began to softly sing the lullaby. As Kat calmed down, she also began to hum along.</p><p>It wasn’t uncommon for Anna to sing it when Kat came to her after nightmares. Unless it was a very bad night, Kat would always join in. So Anna already knew why Kat was asking.</p><p>“Of course! Do you want me to sing it myself?”</p><p>“I’ll try to sing too. I think it would help both of us go back to sleep.” Kat declared. She wanted Anna to sleep just as much as the reverse.</p><p>Anna couldn’t stop the smile that stretched across her face. “Maybe so, Kätzchen. Do you remember how it goes?”</p><p>“By this point, I certainly hope so!”</p><p>So the two began to softly sing, aware of the sleeping queens around them. Kat stumbled over some of the words, but still continued.</p><p>“Danke dir.” Kat said softly after they trailed off.</p><p>“Natürlich, Kätzchen.” Anna replied. “Do you feel better now?”</p><p>“Yeah. What about you?”</p><p>“Better. Now, why don’t we try to go back to sleep.”</p><p>“Alright.” And then, before they could fall back asleep, Kat dryly added; “If we wake up to burnt pancakes again, I’m gonna start planning a new prank for Anne.”</p><p>Anna barely managed to keep herself from waking everyone with her laughter.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The next morning, Anna had slipped from Kat’s embrace and made her way back to her room. She slipped on her running attire and made her way downstairs.</p><p>For once, Anna was up before Jane and Catherine.</p><p>She headed for the kitchen. Jane had made it a rule for Anna to always leave a note to tell them if she had gone for a run. It started early after the reincarnation, after the others panicked one day, forgetting that Anna went out on her morning runs. So, even if Jane was sitting on the couch, Anna always wrote a note.</p><p>But as she stepped in the tiled room, Anna paused. Anne was sitting at the counter, a cup of tea and a box of cookies in front of her. She was still in her sleepwear and looked half asleep.</p><p>Anna was quick to shake off her surprise. She let out a small laugh as she stepped fully into the kitchen.</p><p>“Well damn, I never see you up this early.” She commented as she wandered over to the fridge.</p><p>Anne smirked right back. “Yeah, well, I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.”</p><p>Anna closed the fridge door and took a swig out of the water bottle she had grabbed. “Tell Jane I went out?”</p><p>Anne seemed to ponder something for a moment before grinning. “Can I come on your run with you?”</p><p>Anna blinked in surprise before letting out a huff of laughter. “Who the fuck are you and what have you done with poor Verrücktes Mädchen?”</p><p>Anne glared playfully back. “I know, I know! I’m up early and wanting to join you on a run!  But can I come or not?”</p><p>Anna’s laughter subsided and she pulled a pen and notepad out of one of the drawers. “I don’t see why not. Go get changed while I write the note.”</p><p>Anne beamed and it didn’t take long for the two queens to be out the door.</p><p>They were pretty quiet as they jogged, only trading the occasional joke or small conversation.</p><p>Soon, they came to a bench and Anna guided them over to it. Anne let out a breath of relief as she plopped herself down. This made Anna laugh as she joined the second queen. They had a small moment of peace, enjoying the morning air as few people walked past.</p><p>“Listen.” Anne spoke up quietly, causing Anna to glance at her. “I know you said to forget. But still, I’m sorry about mentioning your portrait.”</p><p>Anna breathed deeply through her nose. She knew it would come back up eventually. “I told you, Anne. It’s fine.”</p><p>“But I know it’s not!” Anna replied quickly, fixing Anna with a small glare.</p><p>“Then at least accept that I’ve forgiven you.” Anna said, wanting to drop the conversation.</p><p>“Fine.” Anne huffed. She clearly wanted to talk more about it but conceded.</p><p>There was silence for several seconds before Anne started a different conversation.</p><p>“I’m also pretty sure I remember you opening my door last night.” Anne said with a small snort.</p><p>“Yeah.” Anna admitted with a chuckle and shrug. “Sorry for waking you. I had a nightmare.”</p><p>Anne’s brows furrowed with concern. “Do you wanna talk about it?”</p><p>“No need.” Anna said. “Kat already talked to me last night.”</p><p>“Good.” Anne declared. She still looked concerned but didn’t push more as she stood up. “Want to head home? I think Jane’s probably started breakfast by now.”</p><p>“Sounds good to me.”</p><p>“Race you, Maman Ours!” Anne chortled as she took off in a sprint. Anna let out a laugh and quickly followed suit.</p><p>Later that evening, Anna would look up what ‘maman ours’ meant. She would proceed to laugh and tell Anne that she loved the nickname along with endless teasing.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Anne and Anna made it back in time for breakfast. It was the normal affair, happy chatter filling the room as everyone talked and ate.</p><p>But after breakfast, Anna was stopped by Cathy as they exited the room.</p><p>“Can we talk, Anna?” Cathy asked, closing her notebook.</p><p>Anna turned, hands still in her pockets as she gave Cathy a smile. “Of course!”</p><p>Cathy nodded back with a smile of her own before leading the way to her room.</p><p>“I heard you tell Kat about your dreams last night.” Cathy admitted as they sat down.</p><p>“What?” Anna asked, eyes widening slightly.</p><p>“You’re not the only one who dreams about the other’s deaths.” Cathy continued, a sad smile on her face. “So I was going up to check on everyone when I heard you tell Kat about your own nightmares.”</p><p>“Shit, Cathy I’m sorry.” Anna apologized.</p><p>“Don’t apologize. You’re going through the same thing.” Cathy replied with a chuckle.</p><p>“Survivor’s guilt, right?” Anna asked quietly. “I remember you mentioning it.”</p><p>“That’s right.” Cathy acknowledged. “I think both of us have it.”</p><p>“Wunderbar.” Anna muttered to herself, glaring at the wall behind Cathy.</p><p>“I’ve seen the way you watch everyone some mornings. Like we’ll all disappear or be killed if you turn your back for a single second.” Cathy then proceeded to say with a hum. “But you don’t have to worry, Anna. All six of us are together. And none of us are going to let each other die again.”</p><p>“Can I give you a hug, Bücherwurm?” Anna asked after a moment of silence. Cathy nodded and Anna was out of her chair and swooping the other woman up off the bed and into a hug. Then she whispered, “You said you’re dealing with the same thing. So please, listen to your own words.”</p><p>A nod was pressed into her shoulder.</p><p>“Why haven’t you come to any of us?” Cathy then asked quietly.</p><p>Anna paused, pondering the question for a moment. “I didn’t want to bother the others. They all have their own trauma to deal with.”</p><p>Cathy pulled back to give Anna a sad smile. She understood that. But still, she needed to give some advice.</p><p>“You have been helping with everyone else’s trauma. Maybe you should start letting the others take some of your own burden as well.”</p><p>“And as I said before, listen to your own words as well.”</p><p>And that was the end of the conversation.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The next day, Catherine and Anna sat down for tea after lunch. This was something they did every once in a while. The two divorced queens would tell each other stories of their old homes and simply chat about how their new lives were going.</p><p>“Spain was always beautiful this time of year.” Catherine said with a happy hum. It had been years since she had been to her home country, even in her past life. But her memories always remained with her.</p><p>“So was Germany.” Anna agreed with a laugh. “And the palace as well. I suppose this is just a beautiful time of year!”</p><p>“Did you prefer your palace over Germany?” Catherine asked, a teasing smirk on her lips.</p><p>“I would say it was more of a tie! Ah, you should have seen it, Königin!” Anna said, a peaceful smile on her face as she thought back to the past. “The woods were just as beautiful as the inside of the palace. The main hall was stunning. We hung the portrait in that same hall.”</p><p>“So you could show it off?”</p><p>“To prove myself and Henry wrong.” It took Anna herself several seconds to register that she had thrown her own name into the mix.</p><p>“Yourself?” Catherine asked with concern.</p><p>“Why don’t we forget that part.” Anna said smoothly, taking another sip of tea.</p><p>“You believed Henry’s words?” Catherine asked incredulously.</p><p>Anna glowered into her empty cup. “Well, he wasn’t wrong.”</p><p>“Anna, you and I both know it isn’t true.” Catherine scolded gently.</p><p>“Then why was I divorced for my looks? And why does everyone seem to agree with him?” Anna questioned with narrowed eyes.</p><p>“Well, now you're being a hypocrite.” Catherine muttered, placing her cup off to the side.</p><p>Anna straightened. “I’m not a hypocrite.”</p><p>Catherine leaned forward in her chair. “Then why are you listening to Henry’s words?”</p><p>“I’m not—!”</p><p>“And don’t you dare say you’re not listening to Henry’s words.” Catherine said, cutting Anna off. “You and I both just heard you admit the opposite.”</p><p>There was silence as both queens considered each other.</p><p>“Well, maybe Henry was right about something.” Anna said slowly.</p><p>Catherine shook her head with a sigh. “You tell me that Henry was wrong. And yet, you are doing the exact same thing I was. Only, you are thinking of your looks instead of your strength.”</p><p>Anna didn’t offer a response.</p><p>“I get the feeling you want to be alone. So I’ll leave you with this. Henry was wrong when it came to you, as well. You are a beautiful person and you are not defined by a portrait. You should never listen to Henry’s words. I made the same mistake, and while I am not fully healed, it is something I’m working on. I hope you begin healing as well, Anna.”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Catherine’s words actually seemed to strike a cord in Anna, and she found herself rethinking what she thought she knew.</p><p>Maybe, she was more than Henry’s words. Maybe she didn’t have to look like the portrait.</p><p>Her insecurities and these new thoughts wrestled each other through the rest of that day. So the next morning, Anna did what always seemed to calm her down. She went on her morning run.</p><p>Soon, she came to a bench and took a seat, taking out her phone and pulling up social media.</p><p>As Anna scrolled through her phone, she heard someone plop down next to her. Anne glanced up to find a man staring at her. He was giving her a smirk, and stretched his arm across the beach of the bench.</p><p>“Hello gorgeous. What’s a pretty lady like you doing all alone?”</p><p>“Not looking for a date, that’s for sure.” Anna said simply.</p><p>“Ah, lovely accent.” The man replied as if she hadn’t said a word. “I was hoping you might want to go on a date with yours truly?”</p><p>Anna gave him an unimpressed stare. “I’m going to have to say no thank you.”</p><p>“Aw come on! Just one date. You won’t regret it.”</p><p>Anna stood from the bench and began walking away, not giving the man another word.</p><p>“Stop being so stubborn! It’s just one dinner!” The man snarled, striding to stand in front of her.</p><p>“No thank you.” Anna emphasized as she rounded the man and continued her walk.</p><p>“Fine! You’re just an ugly bitch anyways!”</p><p>Anna paused for only half a second before speeding up.</p><p>They always said that, and for some reason that Anna couldn’t explain, she thought they were always right.</p><p>Upon reaching the house, Anna quickly vanished upstairs to her room. All of the queens tried to greet her and get her to join them for breakfast, but she moved right past them.</p><p>As the fourth queen passed, everyone saw the depressed and angry look on her face.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Where Catherine’s words seemed to help Anna climb her way from the darkness of her insecurities, that man’s words dragged her back down.</p><p>It was as if she had been plunged back into darkness immediately after seeing the shining sun once again.</p><p>So Anna found herself in her bed, staring at her phone. The familiar picture of her portrait taunting her.</p><p>She knew she had been right. Almost every person in her past life seemed to agree with Henry about how ugly she was compared to this portrait. She was angry at herself for letting Catherine’s words get her hopes up.</p><p>Now, she wanted to be like the woman in the portrait, yet again.</p><p>Anna didn’t know how long she had spent laying there, she was completely zoned out when it came to time.</p><p>But soon, something pulled her back to the present.</p><p>Anna’s head snapped up upon feeling the touch of a hand on her shoulder. She was met with Jane’s sad eyes.</p><p>“Anna?” She asked quietly.</p><p>“What’s up, Jane?” Anna asked simply, putting on a fake smile.</p><p>“Everyone is worried. You didn’t eat breakfast or lunch either.”</p><p>Anna shrugged, her smile turning almost sheepish. “Sorry, Liebling, didn’t realize it was after lunch.”</p><p>Jane gave Anna a pondering look. And then, instead of pushing the food issue, Jane asked another question.</p><p>“So, why were you looking at your portrait, love?” Jane asked gently, sitting next to Anna, who also moved to the edge of the bed.</p><p>“I don’t know if this is something I want to talk about, Liebling.” Anna said, giving Jane a sad smile.</p><p>Jane knew she shouldn’t push the issue. But… Anna had helped her greatly before. Jane wanted to return the favor. So she decided she would ask one more time. If Anna still refused to talk, Jane would drop it.</p><p>Her hands entwined with Anna’s and the red queen could feel the faded cuts covering the palms of Jane’s hands.</p><p>“Please, Anna. You helped me, so I want to help you.” Jane pleaded gently.</p><p>Anna remained silent, staring down at their hands.</p><p>“Alright… I’ll leave you alone.” Jane said quietly, giving Anna a smile as she calmly stood up and walked to the door. “I hope you feel better, love. I’ll bring you up something to eat in a few minutes.”</p><p>But then, just as Jane was about to exit the room, Anna spoke up.</p><p>“I ran into a guy while out.” Anna admitted. Jane’s hand slid from the door handle as she turned back around.</p><p>“A guy?” Jane found herself questioning. What did a stranger have to do with this? Or more accurately… What did this stranger do to Anna?</p><p>“Tried to hit on me.” Anna said with a pained snort. “But I rejected his advances.”</p><p>Jane gave a hum of acknowledgement, moving to sit back next to Anna. Jane purposefully ignored the anger in her chest.</p><p>“As I walked away, he called me an ‘ugly bitch.’” Anna stared at the wall almost blankly. “Worst part? He’s right.”</p><p>Jane felt her mouth drop before she quickly closed it, clenching her jaw as several emotions fought in her brain.</p><p>“He was not right, Anna.”</p><p>“He was! Everyone says so!”</p><p>Anna’s usual laidback, sisterly demeanor had slipped away, showing a deep sadness that made Jane’s heart squeeze painfully. All of this surfaced because of one man’s words.</p><p>“I thought I was finally, at least somewhat, okay after Catherine talked to me. It made me think Henry was actually wrong.” Anna whispered, a small glare forming on her face. “But then this asshole came along and reminded me of the truth.”</p><p>“Anna, what that man said wasn’t the truth.”</p><p>“Yes it was. Why else would everyone say it. Why else would I think it?”</p><p>“Anna… do you want to know what I see?”</p><p>Anna met Jane’s eyes. She couldn’t find any words so she simply shrugged.</p><p>“I see a woman who is strong and always there for when one of us needs her. She listens and calms us down. She is also gorgeous and beautiful, despite what some people used to say. Sometimes, she doesn’t see that herself, but it’s okay. Maybe one day, I can prove it to her.”</p><p>Anna stared wide eyed at Jane. Tears pricked the corner of her vision but Anna forced a scowl on her face. “I don’t know, Jane… they all said it. Henry said it.”</p><p>“Henry was wrong. You are beautiful. And I hope one day you will see it for yourself.” Jane rebutted automatically, teaching forward to grasp Anna’s hands. A sad smile was etched on her face. “And until you do, I will keep saying it. You are beautiful inside and out, Anna. No matter what anyone else says.”</p><p>“And if I never see it?” Anna asked, but she had a small smile on her face.</p><p>“I suppose I will just have to keep saying it then.” Jane replied with a small laugh.</p><p>Both queens giggled with each other.</p><p>“Thank you, Liebling.” Anna said. She paused before also adding, “Can we keep this between us for right now?”</p><p>“Of course. Although, there is one more thing we must do.”</p><p>“What’s that, Liebling?”</p><p>“Can I please see your phone? I promise I won’t do anything bad.” Jane asked, holding her hand out.</p><p>Still filled with confusion, Anna slowly unlocked her phone and passed it over. Jane gave her a smile and held it to where Anna could still see the screen. Jane went to the pictures and found Anna’s portrait. Then, it was swiftly deleted.</p><p>“I don’t think you’ll need that picture anymore. Now, why don’t we go get you something to eat?”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The next morning, the queens decided to go out for breakfast. Everyone was happy to see Anna back to normal. Only now, it was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She chatted happily with everyone, trading teasing remarks with the beheaded cousins and smiles with Jane, who stuck stubbornly by her side.</p><p>But upon entering the chosen restaurant, Anna could feel that happiness dim.</p><p>The reason sat at his own table. It was the man from yesterday, laughing and jeering with several of his friends.</p><p>Anna nudged Jane’s shoulder before nodding in the guy’s direction. “That’s him.”</p><p>Jane immediately frowned. Behind them, Kat had heard Anna’s words. “Who are you talking about?” The fifth queen asked curiously.</p><p>Anna frowned. She had hoped to not tell the others about the encounter just yet. But with that man in the same vicinity, there was a very good chance for a confrontation. She also knew he curiosity probably wouldn’t be dropped for until they got home. “I’ll tell you when we sit down.”</p><p>The queens were soon led to a booth. Kat, Cathy, and Anne took one side of the booth while the other three women took the other side.</p><p>It didn’t take long for Anna to tell the tale. And everyone was soon glaring furiously at the man. The four queens who didn’t know, all seemed to link Anna’s behavior yesterday with the story and it seemed to make them even angrier.</p><p>Anne was about to push herself out of her chair, but Catherine quickly took a gentle hold of the green queen’s hand.</p><p>Anne looked back at her and Catherine calmly shook her head. Despite the calm demeanor, everyone at the table could see the fury in the first queen’s eyes. Anne huffed but sat back down, twisting her hand to keep hold of Catherine’s under the table. Anne was still visibly pissed as she glared around the restaurant.</p><p>In fact, every single queen looked ready to storm the table.</p><p>“Look, I’m completely fine now. I would rather forget about it anyways.” Anna said, waving her hands in a calming gesture. She was telling the truth. Jane had made sure of that. “So why don’t we all calm down and just order breakfast?”</p><p>The queens seemed to relent, although there was a small tension as everyone shot small glares over at the man.</p><p>But they were soon occupied by food, laughs, and chatter as they worked to cheer each other up. Specifically, to cheer up their favorite red queen.</p><p>But that didn’t last forever. For, not too long after, a shadow seemed to fall across their table.</p><p>“Hello, ladies!”</p><p>All six heads turned to the voice. The man they had been talking about earlier stood next to the table. He was smirking at all of them. The queens spotted his friends at another table in the back. They were chuckling and watching the events play out.</p><p>Catherine gained a cold glare on her face. Anne looked five seconds from launching herself at the man. Jane and Anna had pressed themselves a little closer to each other as they both scowled. Kat had planted herself into Cathy’s side, clearly nervous around the stranger, but she still held her own furious stare. Cathy had let Kat latch onto her arm, taking a sip of coffee as she fixed the man with an emotionless gaze.</p><p>The man clearly didn’t notice the burning fury emanating from the table.</p><p>“It’s your lucky day. One of you will get to go on a wonderful date with yours truly!” The guy sneered before his eyes drifted to Anna. “And I’ll be generous and give your friend here another chance as well.”</p><p>“I think we’re just fine, sir.” It was Catherine who commented, carefully keeping her hand clasped with Anne’s.</p><p>While it kept the green queen from punching, it didn’t stop her from snapping her own response. “I suggest you leave, moron.”</p><p>“And why would I do that?” The man snapped right back. “I just want to take one do you lovely ladies out for dinner.”</p><p>“Have you ever heard of ‘no means no?’” Cathy deadpanned.</p><p>“I haven’t heard any ‘nos!’” The man jeered, looking smug. “Besides, I saw you all looking at me.”</p><p>“Nous parlions de la taille de votre putain!” Anne said in a sweet tone. Catherine snorted and Cathy smirked.</p><p>“What the fuck did you say to me?!” The man growled. He didn’t understand the language, but he definitely noticed the mocking tone. His fist rose in a threatening manner but Anne simply smirked at him.</p><p>“Sir, please leave.” Jane finally spoke up. She was just as furious as the others, but she would rather avoid punches being thrown.</p><p>“Why would I do that?” The man scoffed. “I’m asking politely for a date and you’re all attacking me!”</p><p>“Attacking you?” Cathy huffed, despite how quiet her voice was, her tone commanded the attention of everyone at the table. “You were the one who attacked our friend yesterday after she politely let you down.”</p><p>The man didn’t even get a chance to respond as Kat finally snapped. “You hurt her and here you are acting like it never happened! Just go the fuck away!”</p><p>“I think the message is clear.” Anna spoke up with a smirk. She was clearly proud of every single queen around her. “Head back to your table. You’ve already caused a scene.”</p><p>Sure enough, the other patrons of the restaurant, along with staff members were all staring, wide eyed. The man scowled, clearly noticing that he wouldn’t get either the last word, or the date.</p><p>“Can’t even get the ugly one to go out with me.” The man muttered harshly as he turned to stalk off.</p><p>Unluckily for him, every queen had heard. And not even Catherine could stop Anne from leaping out of her seat. She grabbed the man by the shoulder and spun him around. The man yelped in shock.</p><p>“I assume you’re talking about our friend in red?” Anne asked harshly.</p><p>“What’s it to you?” The man hissed.</p><p>“Anna is better looking than you’ll ever be!” Anne declared in a snarl. “You just wanna make yourself look better!”</p><p>Everyone else was out of the booth and joining Anne quickly, all glaring at the man, who suddenly looked far more nervous than before.</p><p>“I also think it’s worth mentioning that Anna could easily have your ass on the ground in seconds if she truly wanted to.” Cathy declared, almost proudly.</p><p>Anna opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t get a noise out as the other queens continued their rant.</p><p>“She’s always there for us through everything! She listens, understands, and helps us!” Kat was speaking up, all fear gone as anger overtook the other emotion. “Everytime we feel bad, Anna’s there!”</p><p>“Anna is a beautiful woman. Inside and out. No matter what your delusional mind thinks.” Jane said cooly.</p><p>“We don’t have the time or patience to list the endless list that we have on why Anna is such a wonderful woman. So we suggest you leave. Now.” Catherine finished, arms crossed.</p><p>It turned out, the man didn’t have to even argue. The manager and staff were now next to them, quickly forcing the queens and the man’s table to pay and leave before they caused any more disruptions.</p><p>The man and his friends were quick to flee, strolling down the street with fake confidence. The man was being scolded harshly by the others with him. Although, it wasn’t for his comments, it was for how they got kicked out.</p><p>The queens remained standing outside the restaurant for several more minutes. The events happened so fast that everyone seemed slightly dumbstruck.</p><p>“Why don't we all go home?” Anna finally asked. She smiled at everyone and everyone beamed right back.</p><p>“Do you think they would let me back in to get more coffee before we leave? My thermos is empty.”</p><p>“We can get some more at home, ‘Kay?”</p><p>“Mmm, alright.”</p><p>“Ooh ooh! Movie night!”</p><p>“Anne, it is ten in the morning.”</p><p>“It’s never too early for a movie night! And if it makes you feel better, it can be a movie day instead!”</p><p>“If we have a movie day, Anna gets to pick the movies.”</p><p>“Aww, but Jane! There was this one movie I really wanted to watch!”</p><p>“Weren’t you the one who made the rule about if someone has a bad day, they get to choose the movie?”</p><p>“Lina! You’re supposed to be on my side!”</p><p>Anna laughed happily as she watched the queens around her. The others couldn’t stop their smiles from getting wider upon hearing the familiar laugh.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Anna of Cleves was usually seen as the guardian of the queens. But having witnessed her family fight in her honor, Anna knew they had her back just as she had theirs.</p><p>And Anna would work on her self-esteem, just like the others were working on their own traumas. She knew the others would help her heal, just as she helped them.</p><p>And if Henry ever got reincarnated, then none of the others would blame Anna for punching him in the face. Hard. In fact, they would probably join her.</p><p>With words of encouragement from every angle, Anna hoped the harsh words etched in her mind would soon fade. She knew that could take a long time, years even. But looking around at the giggling, protective queens, Anna had a feeling she would get better.</p><p>This was her family, and she would continue to protect them, just as they protected her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>According to google translate:<br/>Kätzchen = Kitten<br/>Wach auf, Kätzchen. Folge meiner Stimme. = Wake up, Kitten. Follow my voice.<br/>Danke dir = thank you<br/>Natürlich = of course<br/>Verrücktes Mädchen = crazy girl<br/>Maman Ours = mama bear<br/>Wunderbar = wonderful<br/>Bücherwurm = bookworm<br/>Königin = queen<br/>Liebling = love<br/>Nous parlions de la taille de votre putain! = we were talking about how tiny your dick must be!</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The queens snapped! That poor guy was lucky to have come out as wound-free as he did.</p><p>Also, I didn’t mean to go on a rant about Anna and Kat’s lullaby? But I thought it was adorable and I didn’t have the heart to remove it. So it’s there now.</p><p>That aside, I hope you all enjoyed! Kat’s chapter should hopefully be out soon!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Katherine Howard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kat wanted to take the next step in her healing process and go out of the house by herself.</p><p>She didn’t know it would place her back at square one.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It gets happy at the end, don’t worry! The queens help make everything better! Most of it did somehow turn out to be angst though... But it’s fine!</p><p>And here’s your friendly neighborhood reminder to check the tags! These queens have dealt with bad times.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Katherine Howard thought she had found love at the tender age of thirteen. But then that love faded away. Only for another man to take his place.</p><p>Kat believed they loved her. It wasn’t until Henry that she realized just how wrong she was. And then, Thomas became the biggest betrayal of her life. The betrayal that led to her death.</p><p>But then she was reborn. Reborn with five wonderful women. And Kat found herself getting happier.</p><p>The relationships from her past life weren’t love, it was anything but love. The family she had formed with the queens in this new life? That was love. Although it would take a while for Kat to fully realize this.</p><p>It had taken a while before the queens truly figured out what happened to Kat. They still didn’t know the true extent of her pain. Only Anna seemed to know, and she always said it was Kat’s place to tell them when she was ready. But with what they did know, there were certain details the queens caught onto.</p><p>They way she would always look for exits anytime she entered a room.</p><p>The way she always watched them, as if they might do something at any moment.</p><p>The way she always avoided strange men with a great amount of space.</p><p>The way she didn’t like touch at first.</p><p>The details began to fade after a while, but every once in a while, Kat would find herself doing them yet again.</p><p>But everyone, Kat included, thought she was getting better.</p><p>She began joking and pranking with Anne and Anna. Debating with the two Catherine’s. She would help Jane with chores and cooking. She began seeking hugs from the others.</p><p>But it only takes one horrible person to put you back where you began and ruin your trust.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Whenever Kat went out of the house, it was with another queen.</p><p>But as of recently, Kat wanted to try and go out on her own. She was getting better about her anxieties and fears and she wanted to take the next step.</p><p>So she went to the mall alone. She needed to get a new pack of hair dye and she could look around at the different shops while there.</p><p>The other queens had been asking if she was sure she would be fine. Kat would laugh and tell them she would be okay. They were only looking out for her. She never wanted to go out of the house alone, after all. But Kat could tell they were happy for her.</p><p>It turned out, she would not be okay.</p><p>After grabbing the dye, Kat had made her way to a clothing store.</p><p>This is where things would go wrong.</p><p>Kat had been looking through a rack of clothing when a hand placed itself on her shoulder. Kat jolted and spun around.</p><p>“Hello, darling.”</p><p>It was a man. He was taller than Kat and was smirking down at her.</p><p>Kat found herself freezing. This was exactly what she feared happening.</p><p>Kat shuddered and as the flashback pricked at the corners of her vision, Kat managed to speak. “Sir… please back away…” She backed up until she hit the wall.</p><p>“And leave a pretty girl like you all by yourself?” The man asked, his smirk almost seeming to get wider.</p><p>“Sir, please leave me alone.” Kat gasped out. Her chest was constricting and suddenly it felt like she couldn’t breathe.</p><p>“Come on, darling. You can trust me. You’ll have a wonderful time.”</p><p>Kat tried to move back but the wall prevented her from moving away further. The man’s hand caressed her cheek and his other hand snaked around her waist.</p><p>And suddenly, it wasn’t the man in front of her, it was Mannox. Then it was Francis. Henry. Thomas. All four faces seemed to blend together. Kat felt numb. The only thing she could feel was burning hands all over her body.</p><p>“Oi! She asked you to back the hell off you bloody idiot!”</p><p>The man in front of her turned his head towards the new man. But Kat could only barely tell what was happening around her.</p><p>The men argued until finally, the newcomer seemed to have enough.</p><p>He slammed into the man, sending him sprawling away from Kat. Both of them went rolling across the ground.</p><p>As the fight ensued, Kat slid down the wall. They were back. They were whispering in her ear. Telling her how much of a connection there was. They were touching her. Their hands burned.</p><p>Kat bit hard on the inside of her cheek, preventing herself from screaming. (Mannox and Thomas don’t like it when she screams.) Now she could taste blood.</p><p>She began scratching at her skin as she sobbed.</p><p>Why wouldn’t they leave her alone?</p><p>Why did everyone always hurt her?</p><p>Why won’t they stop?</p><p>They became louder. The burning intensified. So Kat scratched harder.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The other queens had been at home during all of this. Four were downstairs watching television. Anne had been upstairs in the attic, playing a video game.</p><p>But none of the queens downstairs had expected Anne to come sprinting down the stairs. Her eyes were panicked, scaring the queens more than the sudden appearance. She held her phone to her ear, listening attentively.</p><p>But before anyone could say anything, Anne let out a shout. “Merde! We have to get to the mall! Now!”</p><p>The mall. That’s where Kat was. That thought spurred the queens into action and they were soon running down the street. They didn’t have a car, so they would run.</p><p>Only while they ran did Anne explain.</p><p>Kat had called Anne’s phone. Only, it wasn’t Kat. It was a stranger who introduced herself as Sophia Williams. She said that a man tried to make advances on Kat. She told Anne that her husband, Jacob was dealing with the man, but that Kat was in a panic attack.</p><p>Upon reaching the store, the queens paused for only a second.</p><p>Kat was huddled against a wall. A woman was holding Kat’s wrists gently. Red marks were on Kat’s arms and legs, a clear sign that she had been scratching. Kat was limp and sobbing.</p><p>Two men were at the other side of the shop. One had the other pinned against the wall and security was making their way over to them.</p><p>Anna took several long seconds of decision but was soon striding over towards the two men and the security. Jane quickly followed, moving to prevent Anna from making a mistake.</p><p>Anne almost followed Anna, but Catherine took hold of her shoulder, causing Anne to glance back.</p><p>“Your cousin needs you more.” Catherine said simply. Anne paused before nodding and making her way over to Kat, Catherine behind her. Catherine was right, Anna had it handled.</p><p>Cathy hadn’t even hesitated, making her way over to Kat before anyone else moved.</p><p>Sophia took notice of Cathy and quickly released her hold on Kat’s hands, moving to the side.</p><p>“Kat. I need you to listen to my voice. It’s Cathy.” Cathy said quietly. “That man has been taken care of. You’re safe now.”</p><p>Kat seemed to recognize Cathy’s voice and uncurled herself slightly. “C… Cathy?”</p><p>“That’s right.” Cathy said, she was frowning.</p><p>“They… they’re back…” Kat wheezed out before hiding behind her knees again with a whimper.</p><p>“It’s just us, Kitten.” Cathy soothed. “I promise.”</p><p>“We’re right here, Chaton.” Anne agreed, joining Cathy. “Whoever you’re thinking about. Henry, Thomas, whoever. They are gone, Chaton. We promise.”</p><p>Catherine stood behind them, almost as if keeping guard. She conversed quietly with Sophia, who had joined her and began explaining what happened fully.</p><p>Kat uncurled and launched herself at the closest person, Anne, wrapping her arms tightly around her.</p><p>Anne began whispering gently in Kat’s ear as she pulled her cousin closer. Cathy stayed mostly quiet, joining from time to time but letting Anne handle the majority of the talking.</p><p>Soon, Anna and Jane walked over as well. Both were scowling. Anna dropped to her knees next to Anne, Cathy, and Kat and also began comforting Kat. Jane watched them silently, a frown on her face as she thought of everything that had occurred. It all happened so fast.</p><p>As soon as Anna and Jane rejoined the group, Catherine had made her way to talk to the security guards about what to do next.</p><p>Kat was calm now and slowly removed herself from Anne’s embrace. But she continued to stick close to the other women around her. For several minutes, everyone stayed this way, remaining close together in the middle of a store as they kept Kat calm and waited for information.</p><p>Catherine soon came over from where she had been talking to security, one of the guards walked with her. She looked cautiously at everyone. “Do we want to press charges?”</p><p>Everyone glanced at Kat.</p><p>The pink queen slowly shook her head. “I just want to go home…”</p><p>“Okay… then let’s go home.” Anna replied immediately.</p><p>The security guard that had walked back over with Catherine gave them all an understanding nod. “I’m so sorry this happened, ma’ams. That man will be banned from this mall and this will be going on record with the police.”</p><p>“You don’t need statements?” Cathy asked.</p><p>“We have everything we need from the security cameras and statements from witnesses. If we do need statements, we will contact you at a later date. Your friend already gave us your contact information.”</p><p>The queens all gave him their thanks and he made his way back to his coworkers to relay their answer.</p><p>“Can you walk?” Jane asked quietly. Kat gave a nod in return and Anne helped her up. But Kat remained wrapped in her cousin’s arm as they made their way to the entrance. Everyone seemed to form a protective circle around Kat, sticking close as they walked.</p><p>“I’m so sorry that happened to you.” Sophia said. Her and Jacob had made their way over to see them off. Both looked incredibly sorry.</p><p>“I… it’s okay.” Kat answered, a sad smile on her face. “Thank you. For everything.”</p><p>“Anytime.” Jacob replied, giving her his own smile.</p><p>The queens all gave the duo thankful nods and farewells before heading out the door.</p><p>A few months later, Jacob and Sophia would receive a letter in the mail.</p><p>It would contain two front row tickets to the new musical, ‘Six,’ which the two had been wanting to go see. There would be a message with it, ‘I don’t know if you remember, but thank you for your rescue at the mall back in March.’ The letter would be signed ‘K. Howard.’</p><p>Upon seeing a familiar woman dressed in pink in the spotlight, along with five other very familiar faces and colors, the two would be stunned.</p><p>But throughout the show, they would receive smiles and grins from the women that made them smile right back.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>When everyone reached home, a sort of pillow fort was created in seconds. Everyone piled into the living room and began both a movie day and also a sewing session. It was pretty quiet, but instead of focusing on their activities, everyone focused on Kat.</p><p>The pink queen was quiet. She would respond to the questions before going back to watching the movies. She was trying to forget. Trying to ground herself back to the present. The others were worried.</p><p>It was the next day when Kat began to have thoughts.</p><p>What if the queens turned their backs on her?</p><p>They didn’t know the full extent of Kat’s past. Just that someone had hurt her in one of the worst ways possible. They knew that was also the reason she got beheaded. They didn’t know about Francis and Mannox.</p><p>So Kat’s thoughts trailed to what could happen if she told the other queens everything.</p><p>They would be like Step-Grandma, telling her that ‘nothing happened, stop lying, Francis is a good man.’ Or even like Henry, blaming her for something she didn’t even want.</p><p>Maybe… they would even hurt her like the men did. Kat took a shuddering gasp, quickly shaking that thought away. She refused to fall down that rabbit hole.</p><p>But that thought led her to thinking back about the four men and what happened the day before.</p><p>She still felt their hands on her body. Kat didn’t notice, but she began spiraling again.</p><p>None of the other queens heard her cries. She was crying too quietly.</p><p>She cried herself to sleep that night. And when she woke up later, she couldn’t bring herself to go to another queen. Maybe her thoughts were right...</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>For the next few days, the queens didn’t see much of Kat. When they did, she was noticeably nervous around all of them.</p><p>On this night the queens had all gathered downstairs in the living room, doing their own activities as they chatted.</p><p>As everyone around her talked, Kat excused herself to take a shower. Everyone acknowledged this and continued their talks.</p><p>But eventually, it had been a while since Kat went upstairs to shower and the queens were beginning to get concerned.</p><p>So Anna went to go check on Kat.</p><p>“Kätzchen?” Anna asked, knocking on the bathroom door. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You’ve been in there a while and we’re all a little worried.”</p><p>But instead of an answer, Anna heard a loud bang. All caution was thrown out the window as Anna slammed the door open. A cloud of steam washed over her as she made her way to the shower.</p><p>Kat was doubled over on the floor of the shower. She was breathing heavily and crying. Her skin was almost red from the heat of the water.</p><p>Anna was quickly reaching in and turning the shower off, the water was almost boiling. Upon seeing another person in front of her, Kat let out a distressed cry and moved herself so she was pressed into a corner.</p><p>“Shit, Kätzchen. It’s okay. It’s just me. Anna.” Anna said soothingly. She grabbed a towel as she spoke. She made her way back to Kat and tried handing it to the other woman.</p><p>But even after recognizing Anna, Kat pressed herself further back into the corner of the shower.</p><p>“Don’t… don’t touch me!” Kat cried, drawing her knees up to her chest and hiding her face. “I don’t want it! Don’t be like them!”</p><p>Anna found herself freezing. Kat thought she was going to hurt her? Like those bastards did?</p><p>“Kätzchen. I will never do anything like that to you.” Anna soothed quietly.</p><p>“Then why did Thomas do it?!” Kat wailed, her voice slightly muffled. “You’re like a sister to me, Anna! Please!”</p><p>Anna took a deep breath. “You’re like a sister to me too, Kätzchen. I would never do that to you.”</p><p>But just then, the other queens reached the door and were clearly panicking.</p><p>“Go. I’ve got this.” Anna said quickly, glancing at the others.</p><p>“But—!”</p><p>“Go!” Anna urged. “She doesn’t need everyone crowding her right now.”</p><p>The queens still looked unsure but soon stepped away. This let Anna turn her attention back to Kat.</p><p>“I have a towel for you to cover yourself with, okay, Kätzchen?” Anna told Kat before calmly tossing the towel to the younger woman. She quickly caught it and clutched it close to her body, covering herself. “Did you bring any clothes?”</p><p>Kat still held mistrust in her eyes, but it was slowly fading. “On the sink.”</p><p>Anna nodded. “Okay… can you get dressed?”</p><p>Kat gave a small nod in return.</p><p>“That’s good. I’ll wait out in the hall for you, okay?”</p><p>It didn’t take long for them to be on Kat’s bed after that. Kat sat away from Anna, still watching her cautiously.</p><p>So Anna began humming the familiar lullaby. As she hummed, Anna opened her arms, letting Kat come to her. The pink queen paused, but didn’t move.</p><p>“You can trust me Kätzchen.” Anna said quietly after finishing the lullaby. “I would never hurt you.”</p><p>Kat finally moved herself into Anna’s embrace. She let herself start crying. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I thought you would do that.”</p><p>Anna hummed, holding Kat a little closer. “I guess that asshole from the shop is what caused all of these thoughts, huh?”</p><p>Kat took a shuddering breath but nodded into Anna’s chest.</p><p>“None of us would ever do that to you, Kätzchen.” Anna said sincerely.</p><p>“I know! And I still believe that! But I just—!”</p><p>Anna shushed her. “God, Kätzchen… you’ve been through so much. You have every right to not trust us. Everyone else has betrayed that trust. None of us blame you for that.”</p><p>“I’m sorry…”</p><p>“You don't need to apologize. It’s every single one of those assholes’ faults for making you feel unsafe.” Anna said, glaring at the wall. “We earned your trust, but then the bastard from the shop made you doubt everything again.”</p><p>Then, Anna looked at Kat with determination in her eyes. “We will prove to you that you can trust us. However many times we have to do it. We will always prove it.”</p><p>For a long moment, there was silence. But then Kat let out another small sob as she pressed her face into Anna’s shoulder.</p><p>“I don’t wanna be hurt anymore.” Kat managed to get out, her voice cracking.</p><p>“And we will never let it happen again.” Anna whispered to Kat. “I promise you. You can trust us and we will always protect you. We all protect each other. That’s how it works in this house.”</p><p>Kat’s arms tightened around Anna. The two sat there for what seemed like hours. Kat continued crying as Anna held her close, as if protecting Kat from the world.</p><p>Soon, Kat’s cries faded out and Anna quietly asked a question.</p><p>“Are you okay with me going downstairs? I need to tell the others that you’re okay.”</p><p>“Yeah. I think I’ll be okay.” Kat said quietly, but her gaze flickered with uncertainty.</p><p>“Do you want to come with me? We can tell the other queens about what’s going on if you want?” Anna offered upon seeing Kat’s conflicted look.</p><p>Kat wanted to trust the other queens. But the traitorous voice in the back of her mind continued. Telling her how horrible an idea it was to trust them.</p><p>She shook that voice away. It would come back. But for now, she wanted the other queens to know. She wanted to trust them.</p><p>Kat gave Anna a nod. “I want to tell them. About everything from the past life too.”</p><p>“Do you think you can talk about all of it?” Anna asked, giving Kat a concerned look. Kat had broken down more than once when talking about her past.</p><p>“No… but… can you tell them?”</p><p>“Of course. You’re okay with this?”</p><p>“Will any of you leave me? After everyone finds out the truth?” Kat asked quietly, not meeting Anna’s eyes.</p><p>“Kätzchen. I told you we would never hurt you. That includes leaving you. We will never do that.”</p><p>“Then I want them to know.” Kat said simply, giving Anna a nervous smile.</p><p>Anna gave Kat a nod and smile back. “Why don't you try and get some sleep?”</p><p>Kat took a deep breath. She didn’t want another nightmare. But she had to admit, sleep sounded wonderful at the moment.</p><p>Soon enough, Kat was curled up under the blankets and Anna stood by the door, ready to turn the light off and go talk to the other queens.</p><p>“Wait!” Kat said quickly before Anna could turn the lights off. Anna turned around to look at Kat curiously. The younger queen had pulled a book from her bedside drawer and was flipping through the pages. She stopped on a page and held the book out for Anna to take.</p><p>Upon taking the book, Anna’s eyes softened with understanding.</p><p>It was the history book on the queens that Kat had bought. It was littered with sticky notes, index cards, and highlighted paragraphs of truths, fiction, and more context to all of their histories.</p><p>Kat had asked all of the queens if it was okay for her to look into their pasts and ask questions. Everyone was more than happy to answer questions and Kat had turned it into a personal project of sorts.</p><p>The page it was opened to was Kat’s own history. More specifically, Kat’s past, so-called relationships. Sticky notes and index cards with more context and the truths. Words and sentences that were false were crossed out, almost viciously. The words on the sticky notes were shaky, showing that Kat had probably been crying while writing.</p><p>“Do you want me to show them?” Anna deduced. The other queens didn’t know everything. They only knew pieces from what Kat would either scream in her nightmares, or what she quietly admitted, the latter of which wasn’t much.</p><p>“Please?”</p><p>Anna readily agreed with a smile. “Try to get some sleep, Kätzchen. And remember, none of us would ever hurt you. We are not them.”</p><p>Kat pursed her lips before giving Anna a sad smile. “I know…”</p><p>Anna’s smile turned sad as she quietly turned off the light and closed the door. “Feel better soon, Kätzchen.”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Anna would explain everything. She would tell the others everything that happened to Kat. She would show them the book. She would tell them about how hard it was for Kat to trust anyone, the other queens included.</p><p>There would be many emotions.</p><p>Fury. Fury such as when they found out how young Kat had truly been the first time it happened. Thirteen. She had been thirteen when Mannox had his way with her. Anne almost punched a hole in the wall upon hearing this.</p><p>Hatred. Hatred towards those who wronged Kat. The people who ignored the truth. The men who had betrayed her. Made her believe that they loved her when it was nothing more than their own gain. Men who got Kat killed.</p><p>Sadness. A deep sadness for Kat, who didn’t get to live as long as she should have. Who was betrayed at every corner until the biggest betrayal got her beheaded. Beheaded for something she had no control over. Kat, who couldn’t trust them due to being betrayed by every person she let herself get close to.</p><p>Kat had begun trusting all of them. But one cowardly man had turned the confident woman Kat was becoming, back into the meek woman they had first met.</p><p>And right then, the queens made two vows.</p><p>One, they were going to prove to Kat that she could trust them. It didn’t matter how long or whatever it took, the queens were going to let her know this.</p><p>Two, they would never let Kat experience pain like that again. They were going to make sure Kat had the best life possible. She had been given a second chance, and the queens were going to make sure it was a happy one.</p><p>They would never let anyone lay another harmful hand on Kat. But for now, they needed to regain her trust.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>While Jane enjoyed some music from this life, she found herself somewhat missing music from her past life. That’s why this morning, as she was cleaning the living room, she began playing lute music from her phone.</p><p>For a while, it was peaceful, most of the queens were out and Kat was upstairs, leaving Jane to listen to the old music.</p><p>But suddenly, there was a pained wheeze.</p><p>Jane spun around and found Kat. The pink queen was standing halfway down the stairs. She was staring at nothing, eyes wide with terror.</p><p>Suddenly, a gasping noise escaped her lips and the younger queen was spinning around and flying back up the stairs. She tripped halfway, causing her knee to hit the stairs with a frightening bang, but she simply continued to scramble upwards.</p><p>Jane immediately felt panic and she was quickly rushing after Kat.</p><p>Jane reached the top of the stairs and saw pink hair vanish behind a pink door, followed by a loud slam. She made her way over to the door and could hear faint sobbing and whining behind it.</p><p>“Kat? Katherine, sweetheart, it’s Jane.”</p><p>Jane continued with her quiet reassurances as Kat sobbed on the other side of the door. Finally, the crying trailed off and Jane made a request.</p><p>“Can I come in, sweetheart? I just want to make sure you’re okay.”</p><p>It took a long minute for there to be any sort of reply.</p><p>Then slowly, Kat’s door inched open. Jane gave Kat a sad smile upon seeing her. The pink queen had been noticeably crying and was still trying to catch her breath. She was watching Jane cautiously.</p><p>Jane entered the room and closed it behind her. “Breathe with me, okay Kat?” She began saying.</p><p>Kat nodded and soon her breathing slowed. Jane was about to ask if she was alright when Kat flung herself into Jane’s arms. The younger queen had thrown all caution aside.</p><p>Jane took a deep breath and wrapped her arms  around Kat in return. She guided them over to the bed and sat Kat and herself down.</p><p>“Can you tell me what happened, love?”</p><p>“Mannox… Mannox was t...teaching me the lute when he first… when he first…” Kat broke off into a sob and Jane was quickly pulling the girl into another embrace.</p><p>“Shhh, it’s okay, love. I’m sorry I asked.” Jane murmured. “And I am so sorry for playing the music.”</p><p>Kat shook her head into Jane’s neck. “Didn’t know.” She mumbled.</p><p>“And how is your knee? I saw you hit it on the stairs.” Jane asked.</p><p>“It’s okay. A little sore but I don’t think it’s broken.” Kat answered, glancing at the mentioned body part, which was already red and bruising. Jane let out a hum of relief and both went quiet. Then, Kat spoke up.</p><p>“Thank you, Mum.”</p><p>Immediately, both women pulled back from the hug and froze, staring at each other wide eyed.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Jane! I just… you always try to comfort me, and you do such mum-like things—!”</p><p>Kat was cut off by Jane letting out a laugh that slowly made Kat relax.</p><p>“There’s no need to apologize, Kat. It is perfectly alright with me. And you’re absolutely welcome. For everything.”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The next day, everyone else had left the house, leaving Kat alone. So the pink queen eventually decided to make her way downstairs and maybe watch television for a while.</p><p>Kat paused halfway down the steps.</p><p>Instead of no one being home, Catherine sat on the couch, watching television.</p><p>The golden queen was watching her with a smile, having heard her coming down the stairs. “Hello, Gatita.”</p><p>“Uhm… hello?”</p><p>They simply watched each other for a moment.</p><p>“I suppose you came down for a reason?” Catherine eventually asked.</p><p>“I wanted to use the television but I’ll just go since you’re using it.” Kat said, ready to turn around.</p><p>“Nonsense. Come sit.” Catherine said. Kat slowly made her way over, watching the older Catherine.</p><p>They remained in silence as Kat sat down, and the younger queen slowly relaxed as she turned her focus to the television. It was playing a random movie.</p><p>“You can change the channel if you would like.” Catherine spoke up.</p><p>“Are you sure?”</p><p>“Go ahead.”</p><p>But before Kat could reach for the remote, the character on screen said something.</p><p>“I’m sure that there’s a connection between us—!“</p><p>Kat froze.</p><p>Connection.</p><p>They always said there was a connection.</p><p>Kat’s heart and breathing picked up speed. She quickly began to spiral as she pressed her hands over her ears. Their voices were back telling her how much of a connection there was.</p><p>“Kat? I need you to follow my voice, Gatita.”</p><p>Only one person called her Gatitia.</p><p>Kat blinked, still half out of it. She could faintly tell she was in a living room.</p><p>Catherine was kneeling in front of her, not touching her. The television had been turned off.</p><p>“Catalina?” Kat practically slurred.</p><p>“That’s right, Gatitia. It’s Catalina.” Catherine said quietly. “Can I touch you?”</p><p>Kat paused for a long moment before giving a shaky nod, slowly lowering her hands from her ears.</p><p>“Alright, I’m going to take your hands, okay?” Catherine waited for a nod before gently taking Kat’s hands into her own.</p><p>Kat let her gaze drift around the room before Catherine spoke again.</p><p>“Don’t focus on anything else, Gatita. Just focus on me for right now.” Then Catherine asked. “Can I hug you?”</p><p>Kat slowly shook her head.</p><p>Catherine gave her a smile. “That’s perfectly fine. Then, why don’t we have a little quiz?”</p><p>Kat blinked at her, noticeably confused. But she was uncurling from her position, which was a good sign.</p><p>“I ask you questions about mine and the other queen’s past lives, along with other facts from history and you can give me the answers.” Catherine explained, giving Kat a smirk. “I saw all of the sticky notes in your history book. And not just in the book about our past lives.”</p><p>Kat blushed and let out a small laugh at this. “Well, they were wrong about stuff.</p><p>“So they were.” Catherine said with her own laugh. “Does this sound fun to you?”</p><p>Kat nodded, almost excitedly.</p><p>So Catherine began to quiz Kat. Kat became happier and happier as they went along with the quiz. Catherine was soon able to move back to her side of the couch. But the quiz continued long after Kat calmed down. Catherine had to go find some of Kat’s history books at one point.</p><p>“Thank you, Catalina.” Kat said quietly. She shifted over and held her arms out. Catherine happily leaned into the hug.</p><p>“Of course, Gatita.” Catherine said quietly. “And I want you to know that you can always come to the other queens and myself. For anything you need.”</p><p>Kat hummed, giving Catherine a shy smile. </p><p>“Yeah… I know.”</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>The other queens had left the house yet again, leaving Kat and Anne behind. Both queens remained in their rooms, doing separate activities.</p><p>But at some point, Kat got hungry.</p><p>Kat didn’t bother to put on her choker, instead simply heading downstairs to the kitchen.</p><p>Jane had left pie in the fridge. Kat beamed. Jane’s pies were always delicious. She had to cut a piece, so Kat pulled a knife out of the drawer.</p><p>Hm. There was an itch on her neck.</p><p>Somehow, in her sleep deprived state, Kat forgot the knife was in her hand. So when she reached up, the knife sliced at her skin.</p><p>Kat yelped and quickly pulled the knife away. She looked at the knife and her eyes widened frantically. There was blood on the knife. So Kat shakily rose a hand to where the knife had cut.</p><p>Kat pulled her hand away and a startled scream escaped her lips. Blood was trailing down her fingertips and hand.</p><p>She had toppled to the floor and was staring at her hand when Anne came racing around the corner. Anne froze and for a moment, her hand drifted up to her own scar, which was concealed by her choker.</p><p>But she quickly snapped herself out of it and grabbed the first aid kit out of the cabinet. Anne silently thanked the fact that Kat and Jane decided they needed a kit in the kitchen after the broken glass incident.</p><p>She dropped next to the sobbing Kat, pulling open the first aid kit.</p><p>“You’re okay, Chaton.” Anne soothed. “It isn’t too bad. I promise. You’re okay.”</p><p>“Annie?”</p><p>“That’s right! It’s Annie. You’re in our home, in the 21st century.” Anne began trying to ground Kat. “You’re perfectly safe, you just had a little accident. We’re gonna fix it.”</p><p>Kat listened, taking deep breaths as Anne dealt with the cut.</p><p>“Talk to me, Chaton. What do you need?” Anne asked quietly as she finished bandaging the wound.</p><p>“I don’t… I don’t know.” Kat murmured with a shrug.</p><p>“Okay… then why don’t I clean everything up and we watch a movie, yeah?” Anne said with a hum and she put supplies back in the first aid kit.</p><p>“You don’t want to plan a prank?” Kat asked teasingly.</p><p>Anne seemed surprised by the sudden sarcasm but grinned. It was a sign that Kat was getting better.</p><p>“Well, if you really want to do that we can.” Anne replied with a laugh.</p><p>“Hmm, the movie idea sounds great.”</p><p>“Then that’s what we’ll do!”</p><p>So Anne quickly cleaned up the kitchen and cut two slices of pie. The green queen helped Kat stand and both women took their slices over to the couch. They pulled up a random movie to watch.</p><p>As they watched and ate, the two pressed themselves close together, comforted by each other’s warmth.</p><p>They remained that way for the rest of the evening, even when the other queens returned.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Kat hasn’t been sleeping. The last time she slept was after the shower incident with Anna. The lack of sleep would have repercussions.</p><p>Kat had been in the living room when they appeared.</p><p>Mannox. Francis. Henry. Thomas.</p><p>All four of them were here. They were all around her, taunting her and whispering sweet words in her ears. They were reaching out and touching her. Their hands burned again. Kat squeezed her eyes closed as she screamed.</p><p>Oh god, they were back. Why were they back?</p><p>“Kat…? Kat!”</p><p>Kat felt her eyes snap open. She was pressed up against the back of the couch. The men were gone.</p><p>Cathy was crouched in front of Kat and watching her cautiously. Her hand rubbed at her shirt sleeve, a nervous tick.</p><p>“Cathy?” Kat managed to get out. “They were here… they were here!”</p><p>Cathy felt herself tense. Kat thought she saw the four men?</p><p>“They aren’t here, Kat. I promise.” Cathy said quietly.</p><p>“I saw them, Cathy! I saw them!” Kat yelled, her panic returning.</p><p>“Kat, how long has it been since you’ve slept?” Cathy asked, smiling almost nervously.</p><p>Kat’s gaze darted up to Cathy’s face, the other woman’s eyes quickly flicked away from her own. Kat seemed surprised, but answered. “A few days, maybe?”</p><p>Cathy hummed. “Maybe it was a hallucination? I read that it can happen with loss of sleep.”</p><p>Kat paused before nodding slowly. “Maybe…”</p><p>Cathy grimaced. “They aren’t here. I promise.”</p><p>Kat nodded her head, and seemed to be reassuring herself as well, taking deep breaths and twisting her hands together.</p><p>“Is it alright if I hug you?”</p><p>Kat nodded and Cathy was pulling the pink queen into her arms. Kat hugged Cathy back tightly.</p><p>“Cathy. They won’t leave me alone.” Kat wheezed out.</p><p>“They aren’t here, Kat.” Cathy said. “I promise you. I promise. They are gone and buried. They aren’t here.”</p><p>“Cathy, what if they do come back?” Kat asked, grasping at Cathy’s arm. There was terror in her eyes.</p><p>“Then we’ll keep them away.” Cathy said simply, she tugged Kat closer, letting the taller woman bury her head into her shoulder. “They won’t get near you again, I promise. I won’t let them. None of us will.”</p><p>The two were quiet for a long moment after that. They simply basked in the reassurance of the other being there.</p><p>“I’m tired.” Kat finally mumbled with a hum.</p><p>“Do you want to go try and sleep?” Cathy questioned calmly.</p><p>“Yeah.” Kat didn’t think she would have a nightmare. She was tired and everyone's words from across the week were helping her.</p><p>But just in case...</p><p>“Stay with me?” Kat asked quietly, looking hopefully at Cathy.</p><p>“My room or yours?” Cathy asked in return. Kat beamed and both women got to their feet. The pink queen simply led them to the closest bedroom, Cathy’s.</p><p>Kat only realized how tired she truly was as she laid down.</p><p>“I’ll be right here if you need me.” Cathy said. She had kept space between them and was on the side of the bed against the wall, leaving room for Kat to escape if she wanted to.</p><p>Kat stared at her for a moment before shifting to where she was closer to Cathy. “Hug?”</p><p>Cathy let out a hum of surprise. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”</p><p>“I’m sure.” Kat replied with a small smile. So Cathy opened her arms and Kat slipped into the embrace.</p><p>They remained this way for a long moment before Kat moved out of the embrace. She gave Cathy one last smile as she moved back to her side of the bed. Then, both of them fell asleep.</p><p>They would wake up in the morning holding each other.</p><p>Kat would wake up first. She would at first freeze with fear. But she would slowly relax back into Cathy’s warmth and fall back to sleep.</p><p>Cathy would wake up later. She paused for only a moment before simply falling back to sleep.</p><p>They would remain this way until they were called for breakfast.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Over the next few days, everyone began to notice Kat recovering once again. She began to crack sarcastic jokes with Anne and Anna. She talked happily with Catherine and would read and chat with Cathy. She helped Jane with chores and store runs.</p><p>On this specific day, Kat has been having a wonderful morning.</p><p>It was one of the rare days when she didn’t have a nightmare and she woke up feeling refreshed. She had made her way downstairs and found that Jane had made her favorite. After happily eating, Kat was shooed away before she could even think of helping Jane with the dishes. She had been having a happy conversation with everyone in the living room when Anna suddenly interrupted.</p><p>“Alright, Queens. Why don’t we all get dressed?” Anna requested, standing from the armchair.</p><p>“Where are we going?” Kat found herself asking.</p><p>Anne chortled as she passed Kat. “It’s a secret, Chaton!” Everyone else also seemed to know where they were going.</p><p>Needless to say, Kat was confused.</p><p>The car ride was uneventful. But when they got closer to wherever they were going, Anne covered Kat’s eyes.</p><p>This only made Kat’s confusion and anxiety worse.</p><p>They stepped out of the car and Kat was led several paces forward. The other queens were all giggling and laughing happily.</p><p>Anne removed her hands and Kat felt her mouth drop in surprise.</p><p>It was the museum Kat had been wanting to visit for several weeks now.</p><p>“We know you have been wanting to come here for a while.” Catherine explained upon seeing the look on Kat’s face. “And we also wanted to do something special considering… the problem from a few weeks ago.”</p><p>“We’ve been planning this since the mall incident.” Anna said, giving Kat a smirk. “It’s why most of us were out of the house sometimes.”</p><p>“And after this, we’re gonna head to your favorite restaurant!” Anne said, excitement rolling off her in waves.</p><p>“And then we’ll head home and most likely do a movie night.” Jane said. Kat wasn’t sure if she imagined it, but she was fairly sure she saw Anne give Jane a challenging glare at that.</p><p>“Come on, let’s go in!” Anna said with a laugh, moving towards the door.</p><p>Cathy, who had remained quiet through all of this, watched Kat. Kat beamed back and held out her hand. Cathy gently shook her head. Kat gave an understanding nod, her smile never fading as she moved to walk next to Cathy, making sure not to touch her.</p><p>The museum had been just as exciting as Kat hoped it would be. The other queens only added to that excitement.</p><p>Anne was reenacting pictures and statues, grinning happily at Kat all the while. Catherine easily kept pace with the second queen, keeping her out of trouble. Jane and Anna stayed together, Anna sometimes helping Anne with her re-enactments. Kat began to ramble about different facts for each exhibit, and all the queens gave her their attention. Cathy especially was hanging onto every word the fourth queen said.</p><p>The restaurant had been just as fun.</p><p>Catherine and Cathy began a conversation on a book Cathy had recommended to the golden queen. Jane and Anna were talking to Kat about everything they had seen in the museum. Anne kept flitting happily between both conversations, stealing food when she thought no one would notice (everyone did, they simply didn’t say anything).</p><p>After the day’s events, everyone headed back home.</p><p>Upon stepping in the door, Anne pivoted on her heel to smile at Kat. “Which would you rather do? Movies or video games?”</p><p>Kat took a moment to ponder. “Video games.”</p><p>Anne gave Jane a smug grin. “Told you!” That explained the challenging look from the museum.</p><p>Jane sighed and shook her head, an amused smile tracing her lips. Kat couldn’t stop giggling as Anna and Anne raced up the stairs to get everything they needed. Catherine and Cathy vanished into the kitchen as Jane led Kat into the living room.</p><p>Soon everyone had returned and found their places. Catherine and Jane were pressed into Kat’s sides and Anne was on the floor in front of Kat. The three kept enough room for Kat to move if she wanted to. Cathy and Anna had stolen places on the armchairs.</p><p>Anne and Anna began to squabble over who would win the brawl. Jane was chuckling fondly at the argument as she chose her own character. Kat began talking to Catherine about their chosen characters. Cathy remained quiet, already having chosen her character, watching everyone else.</p><p>Later, after the first fight, a voice spoke up above the cheering and whining.</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>Everyone paused in their chatter, turning to face Kat. They all seemed to know immediately what Kat was referring too.</p><p>“I told you we would prove it.” Anna said simply, giving Kat a grin.</p><p>“There’s no need to apologize.” Catherine said.</p><p>“We will always be here for you.” Jane continued. “And we know you would do the same for us.”</p><p>“We won’t let something like that happen again.” Cathy declared. “We promise.”</p><p>“So does this mean you’re willing to help with pranks again?” Anne asked with a smirk.</p><p>“Of course!” Kat agreed with a laugh.</p><p>The others let out playful groans but were noticeably amused.</p><p>Everyone was happy.</p><p>~~||~~||~~</p><p>Anna was right, Kat realized. The queens around her were proving time and time again that she could trust them.</p><p>And if that shred of doubt came back, Kat knew they would simply prove it again.</p><p>So as she watched her friends— no, her family, laugh and chatter around her, Kat couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.</p><p>They would protect her. And she would protect them in return, be it mentally or physically.</p><p>Katherine Howard finally felt safe. Safe, happy, and hopeful.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translations according to Google:<br/>Merde = shit<br/>Chaton = kitty<br/>Kätzchen = kitten<br/>Gatita = kitty</p><p>We had one a-hole in the last chapter, and then another one here, so I decided we should have two very nice civilians!</p><p>I remember while I was writing the shop scene, I sent what I had written to a friend followed by a message that literally just said, “sad Kat hours,” and I feel like that sums up the beginning of this chapter nicely.</p><p>One more queen! It may take me a little longer because... research. But here’s hoping that Cathy’s chapter will be out soon!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Catherine Parr</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The queens had learnt about mental disorders and illnesses when Anne got diagnosed. They never considered that another member of their group could be having a similar problem.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Final chapter of this story! Wow!</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone who has left a comment, kudos, or even just read! But this isn’t the final story (hopefully, at least)!</p>
<p>Now, before the chapter I wanted to do a disclaimer:<br/>I can’t promise this will be perfect. I don’t have autism, I don’t know anyone with autism, and I only know what I have been learning online. But for some reason, I really wanted to write ASD Cathy. So I apologize in advance if my descriptions are inaccurate or just completely wrong.<br/>Please just keep the above in mind as you read and I’m so sorry if I get anything wrong.</p>
<p>Now then, I hope you guys enjoy Cathy’s chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Catherine Parr. The survivor.</p>
<p>She was known to be opinionated. She had her beliefs and she could talk about those opinions and also her writing for hours if she wanted too.</p>
<p>Cathy rarely spoke up about her opinions anymore. If the queens asked a question, they received fact, not opinion.</p>
<p>Henry and Thomas had been too loud whenever she did speak up about those opinions. So now, she kept them to herself. When they yelled and raged, Cathy would break down.</p>
<p>There were other things. Cathy hated eye contact, there were days where she hated touch and other days where she craved it. There were foods and fabrics that burned or were simply too much. There were days where Cathy didn’t want to speak, so she would spend the day in her room, only coming out for necessities and avoiding the other queens when she did. Sometimes, the other queens were just too loud. There were days where everything was just too much for Cathy to handle.</p>
<p>Until Anne's diagnosis, the other queens didn’t know anything about mental illness. And now that they did, it would prove to be a very good reason for Cathy’s behaviors.</p>
<p>And it would lead to the others figuring out things about Cathy they hadn’t known before, not all related to Cathy’s illness. And it would help them better understand Cathy herself.</p>
<p>But first, the queens needed to discover what Cathy’s mental illness was. And even discover that she had one in the first place.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Cathy was not having a good morning.</p>
<p>She was forced to wear one of her shirts that scratched at her skin as none of her other shirts were clean. Jane had put peanut butter on Cathy’s toast and tomatoes on the omelet. And now there was an argument. A very loud argument.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t a malicious argument, like the many from right after the reincarnation. It was one of the playful arguments that became more common in the household.</p>
<p>Everyone was sitting around the table at breakfast. Somehow, Anna and Anne got into an argument about who was better at a video game.</p>
<p>Anne’s foot was tapping rapidly against the floor as she glared playfully at Anna. Anna was grinning back smugly, arms crossed. Jane and Kat looked very amused by the argument, Kat even encouraging it. Catherine was just trying to continue eating, but everyone could see the smirk placed on her lips.</p>
<p>“I’m totally better, I beat your record after all!”</p>
<p>“Check again! I beat the score last night!”</p>
<p>“Bullshit!”</p>
<p>Cathy simply sat there, she was pushing at her food with her fork, trying to keep herself calm. But the others were practically shouting, her shirt was almost burning her skin at this point, and who puts peanut butter on toast and tomatoes on omelets anyways?</p>
<p>Cathy had always tried to avoid arguments. For two reasons.</p>
<p>One, arguments and her opinions were what almost got her killed in her past life. Henry wasn’t the only one who disliked when she voiced her opinions. Thomas hated when she did that too. And when she would raise her voice, both men would scream even louder until it became too much for Cathy to bear. There was one occasion where Thomas had gone so far as to slap her.</p>
<p>Two, whenever there was too much noise, it would send Cathy into a sensory overload, although she didn’t know that’s what it was at the time.</p>
<p>Trauma and sensory overload made for a very painful combination. So whenever an argument started, Cathy would slip away to her room.</p>
<p>Ever since the queens had sorted everything out and the arguments had dropped significantly, Cathy was seen out of her room more and more often. But still, there were times like these where Cathy wanted nothing more than to crawl back into her room and hide.</p>
<p>Cathy tried to take deep breaths. But everything was wrong.</p>
<p>Her shirt scratched painfully against her body. She couldn’t eat her toast and omelet. And now everything was too damn loud.</p>
<p>Everything was too much. Even the lights were too bright now.</p>
<p>She needed to get away.</p>
<p>Cathy shoved her way out of her chair and scrambled out of the room. She could hear loud surprised yells behind her but she continued her path. She was quickly darting into her room and slamming the door behind her.</p>
<p>Cathy faintly registered her own thankfulness that she had left her room light off.</p>
<p>She slumped down against her door, taking in gasped breaths as her shaking hands rose to cover her ears. She could still hear the others on the other side of the door.</p>
<p>Cathy felt her chest constricting and she could hear her own heartbeat in her ears and every gasped breath she took. The shirt was still burning and itching. Cathy struggled with the shirt for several long seconds before she finally managed to tear it off, throwing it down onto the floor, leaving her in only her bra and pants. The door was too cold against her back now and Cathy was quickly leaning forward, bracing her hands against the back of her head.</p>
<p>It took another minute or two for the other queen’s voices to fade away.</p>
<p>But even after they left, everything was still too loud. And all Cathy could do was remain hunched over on the floor, breathing heavily with tears dripping from her cheeks as her senses continued to scream at her.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>It was needless to say that all of the queens were stunned when Cathy bolted from the kitchen table.</p>
<p>They had stood outside the blue queen’s door for a few minutes. They could make out her heavy breathing and whimpers through the door, but couldn’t get her to open it.</p>
<p>So, Anna carefully led everyone into the living room, breakfast forgotten, as everyone sat down, still in shock.</p>
<p>“What just happened?” Catherine was the one who spoke up. Her eyes were filled with concern.</p>
<p>“I don’t know…” Anna replied, brows furrowed and arms crossed.</p>
<p>“Shit... do you think she’s okay?” Anne asked, staring back at the hallway.</p>
<p>“I don’t know…” Kat murmured, a worried frown on her lips.</p>
<p>Everyone went quiet.</p>
<p>“Jane? What are your thoughts?” Catherine spoke up. Jane had been sitting there, lost in thought as she stared down at her clasped hands. She jolted upon hearing her name, looking around at the other queens.</p>
<p>“Well…” Jane bit her lip. “I don’t know if I’m right or not.”</p>
<p>“Whatever it is, it’s an idea, right?” Anne spoke up. “About what Cathy may be dealing with? Maybe it can get us closer to the truth.”</p>
<p>Jane relented. “After we found out about Anne’s ADHD, I did my own research. I wanted to understand better. I stumbled upon an article on something called the autism spectrum. I became curious and began researching.”</p>
<p>“Autism?” Anna asked cautiously. “I’ve read about it too. You think Cathy is autistic?”</p>
<p>“Like I said before, I don’t know if I’m right or not.” Jane repeated.</p>
<p>“What are some of the symptoms?” Kat asked, she had never heard of autism, and neither had the first and second queens by the looks of it.</p>
<p>Jane and Anna began explaining what they knew. They mentioned symptoms related to social skills and communication, avoiding eye contact and hyperfocusing. They told the others about sensory overloads, which the queens immediately related to what just happened.</p>
<p>“So Cathy could have just had a sensory overload?” Anne spoke up cautiously. She seemed to be pondering something.</p>
<p>“It’s possible.” Catherine said with a contemplative hum.</p>
<p>“I haven’t really seen her stimming…” Anna admitted, her gaze curious.</p>
<p>“No, I’ve noticed that she rocks herself sometimes, if that counts. But it’s rare.” Kat replied smoothly. Then she gave a forlorn glance towards the hall that held Cathy’s room. “I just hope she’s okay.”</p>
<p>“It’s just things I’ve noticed.” Jane said, giving everyone a nervous smile. “I’m not a doctor so I can’t be sure.”</p>
<p>“No, no. Thank you so much for telling us, Liebling.” Anna said, giving Jane a confident smile. Then she turned her attention to everyone. “Let’s just give Cathy space. And then when she feels better we can talk to her about all of this.” </p>
<p>All of the queens murmured their acknowledgments. But none of them moved from their sitting positions. Instead someone flicked the television on and they all stayed where they were, waiting. They were all too worried to do anything else.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>It took a while for Cathy to regain control of her senses. And even longer for her to muster the energy to move.</p>
<p>But she didn’t leave her room. She didn’t have the energy to face the other queens. She also would prefer not to leave her room shirtless. She still didn’t have another shirt that wouldn't scratch at her skin, so she would simply not wear one.</p>
<p>Cathy instead made her way over to her desk, flicking on her lamp. She pulled out her notebook and pen and began writing. Whenever she paused in her writing, her fingers clicked at the pen.</p>
<p>She didn’t want to be in the real world right now, so instead, she would write.</p>
<p>But Cathy was soon drawn out of her creative world by hunger and a thirst for coffee. There was a small worry about seeing the other queens. But Cathy couldn’t bring herself to care at that point. She would sneak some food and coffee and get back to her room.</p>
<p>So she slipped out of the room, trying not to make much noise.</p>
<p>But before she could get into the kitchen, she heard a voice.</p>
<p>“Cathy?”</p>
<p>Cathy’s head swiveled. The other five queens were all in the living room. The television had been muted and they were all watching her. Their expressions were both surprised and worried.</p>
<p>“Where’s your shirt?” Anne piped up. The other queens all shot her small glares, making her shrink into her seat slightly. “Sorry!”</p>
<p>Cathy shrugged and shifted on her feet. “It was uncomfortable and it burned.” She said simply.</p>
<p>“Why don’t we get you a comfortable shirt, then?” Kat asked gently, standing and walking over to Cathy. “And afterwards, we can all talk.”</p>
<p>And then Kat was gently guiding Cathy up the stairs.</p>
<p>They came back a few minutes later with Cathy nestled in a pink sweater. The usually blue queen looked far more comfortable than she had before. She rubbed the sleeves as she sat down with Kat, keeping her gaze towards the floor.</p>
<p>“Are you feeling better, Mija?” It was Catherine who asked the question.</p>
<p>“Yeah. I’m sorry about earlier.” Cathy answered, continuing to rub at her sleeve.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to apologize!” Kat told Cathy. “We’re just worried.”</p>
<p>“That’s why there’s something we want to talk to you about.” Anna said slowly.</p>
<p>“Alright?” Cathy hummed looking up from the ground and around at the others, but still avoiding eye contact.</p>
<p>Everyone around her shifted nervously.</p>
<p>“We think you may have autism.” Jane finally stated. At Cathy’s blank stare, Jane began to inform Cathy about autism, only to be stopped.</p>
<p>“I know what autism is.” Cathy said gently, halting Jane, who blushed.</p>
<p>“Ah. I see.” Jane mumbled.</p>
<p>“I just never really thought about it.” Then Cathy tilted her head as she mumbled. “I always thought I was just weird. Everyone said it.”</p>
<p>Everyone in the room straightened at Cathy’s words. Then there was a flurry of words telling her how wrong those people were. The volume made Cathy flinch. Seeing this, everyone quieted themselves.</p>
<p>“Do you want to see a doctor about this, mija?” Catherine asked after taking a deep breath to calm herself. “It may help.”</p>
<p>“Just knowing whether or not I actually had ADHD helped.” Anne spoke up after Cathy looked unsure at her godmother’s question. “If you do have it, then maybe the doctors can help you understand it better. If not, then at least we know that.”</p>
<p>Cathy stared back at Anne. It took several seconds but Cathy finally nodded her head. “Okay. It does sound like a good idea.”</p>
<p>The other queens seemed almost relieved. Jane would call and make Cathy an appointment. While waiting for the date to arrive, everyone began to do their own research into ASD, Cathy especially.</p>
<p>That doctor they visited was the same one who diagnosed Anne. And now, it was that same doctor who diagnosed Cathy with ASD.</p>
<p>~~||~~|~~</p>
<p>A day or two after Cathy’s diagnosis, two queens walked into the mall.</p>
<p>Jane was in the lead, seeming to have her destination in mind as she guided her companion forwards.</p>
<p>Cathy trailed behind Jane, a blue thermos in hand as she took sips of the coffee it held. The two made small conversation as they walked through the mall. Finally, Jane stopped in front of a clothing shop.</p>
<p>Cathy blinked as she looked towards Jane. “Clothes?”</p>
<p>“You mentioned that some of your clothes scratch at your skin.” Jane explained. “So I figured we would get you some new, more comfortable clothes.” Then she asked; “Your sweater is your favorite, yes?”</p>
<p>Cathy gave her a quick nod in response.</p>
<p>“Then let’s try to find something like that first!”</p>
<p>While they walked around the store, Jane brought up another topic.</p>
<p>“I also want to talk to you about food.”</p>
<p>Cathy glanced at Jane, taking another sip of her coffee. “Food?”</p>
<p>“Yes, I recently found out about food aversions.” Jane answered, turning to fully face Cathy. “And I saw how you looked disgusted at breakfast the other day.”</p>
<p>Cathy tilted her head before answering with a question.</p>
<p>“You know people with ADHD have food aversions too, correct?”</p>
<p>Jane let out a laugh before explaining. “That’s how I found out about food aversions in the first place. Then, when we found out about your autism, I got curious about whether or not you may also have aversions.”</p>
<p>Cathy watched Jane for a moment as the older queen pulled down a sweatshirt and carefully held it out for Cathy to feel. It felt wonderful, so Cathy gave Jane a nod, prompting Jane to keep hold of the shirt. “There are some foods… like tomatoes and peanut butter.”</p>
<p>Jane gave Cathy a sad smile. “Thank you for telling me, love. I’m so sorry about that.”</p>
<p>“You didn’t know.” Cathy replied gently, shaking her head at both the comment and a long sleeved shirt Jane let her feel. Jane put the shirt back immediately.</p>
<p>“Well, later today, I would like it if you could make a list of some of those foods? That way I can exclude them from your meals.”</p>
<p>“I can do that. Are you making Anne do the list too?” Cathy asked with a small chuckle.</p>
<p>“I already asked her before we left.”</p>
<p>Jane cared deeply for Cathy and Anne. She didn’t want to make a mistake like that again.</p>
<p>After their conversation and trying on the clothes, they bought everything Cathy was comfortable in and liked before heading home.</p>
<p>Upon reaching the house, Jane led the way to Cathy’s room. The women placed their bags on the bed and Jane was then striding over to Cathy’s closet.</p>
<p>“Now then, pull out the clothes you don’t like.”</p>
<p>Cathy obeyed, making her way over and beginning to pull out clothes. By the time she was done, most of the clothes were out of the closet.</p>
<p>Jane felt sadness pool in her chest. All of the clothes piled on the bed made Cathy uncomfortable and none of them knew it. It was no longer a wonder why Cathy was usually seen in the same clothing.</p>
<p>“I suppose it’s a good thing we got you all of these new clothes, then.” Jane joked, a smile tugging at her lips. Cathy smiled back with a chuckle.</p>
<p>“Guess so.”</p>
<p>The next several minutes were spent hanging up all of the new clothing. Jane pretended not to notice Cathy slipping a familiar pink sweater between the mostly blue clothing.</p>
<p>Jane finished hanging up the last item. She turned around and found Cathy staring at the pile of old clothing. Upon feeling Jane’s stare, she glanced at the silver queen.</p>
<p>“Sorry we have to get rid of all of these.” Cathy said, a twinge of uncertainty in her tone.</p>
<p>“It’s completely fine, love.” Jane replied. “We all want you to be comfortable. And it won’t be as if we’re simply throwing them away. We’ll give them to a charity.”</p>
<p>Cathy noticeably felt better after that. Then she quietly spoke up. “Thank you, Jane…”</p>
<p>Jane beamed at the younger queen. “Anytime, Cathy.”</p>
<p>Jane would later find Cathy’s food list sitting on the kitchen counter along with a thank you note. Jane would chuckle and place Cathy’s list next to Anne’s, where she could check both lists as needed.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Cathy couldn't stop rubbing at the sleeves of her sweater as she paced back and forth. Tears drifted down her cheeks.</p>
<p>Cathy felt an emotion bubble up in her chest. Whatever the emotion was, Cathy knew it was directed at Anne. The green queen had said something and Cathy had blown up. Now, the blue queen was pacing in her room, trying to calm herself down.</p>
<p>“... Cathy? Cathy?”</p>
<p>Cathy blinked in surprise and she quickly glanced behind her to see Anna in the door of her bedroom. Anna walked over to her, but didn’t try to touch her or look her in the eyes.</p>
<p>“Anne was just making a joke.”</p>
<p>“It was a joke?” Cathy asked, voice muffled by her tears.</p>
<p>“It was. I promise.” Anna said with a small chuckle. “Anne didn’t mean any harm.”</p>
<p>Cathy inhaled sharply and began pacing again. The tears felt hot on her cheeks as her hands went up to grasp at her hair. She choked out another sob.</p>
<p>“Cathy, babes, you’re okay. I promise.” Anna tried to sooth. She sat on the edge of Cathy’s bed and patted the spot next to her. “Come sit down. I'm worried you might hurt yourself.”</p>
<p>Cathy sat down, but her hands remained locked onto her head and she began rocking back and forth.</p>
<p>Anna moved so she was kneeling in front of Cathy, but not touching her. “Follow my breathing, Cathy. Just breathe…”</p>
<p>It took a while for Cathy to calm down, but eventually her hands slowly moved away from her head and her sobbing and breathing slowed.</p>
<p>“You’re doing great, Cathy.” Anna murmured.</p>
<p>“Sorry.” Cathy managed to gasp out.</p>
<p>“Don’t apologize, Bücherwurm.” Anna said gently. “You didn’t realize it was a joke.”</p>
<p>“But that’s just it… I don’t… I don’t understand things like that… and I act so damn different from everyone. I’m strange and weird!” Cathy snapped, rocking herself slightly as her knees pulled up to her chest.</p>
<p>“You simply see things differently from the rest of us, Bücherwurm. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. And all of us love you for everything that you are. It’s anything but strange and weird. You’re just different, Cathy. We will always be here for you, and help you if you need it. You just keep being you, okay?” Anna declared, giving Cathy a confident grin. Cathy stared for a moment before giving a shaky smile in return. But then Anna’s gaze turned questioning. “I’ve rarely noticed you acting any differently than those around you.”</p>
<p>“I watch others.” Cathy explained in a whisper, shrugging her shoulders. “I watched what other people would do and how they would respond.”</p>
<p>Anna paused, blinking wide eyed at Cathy before chuckling softly. “You’re a clever woman, Bücherwurm. And… I’m sorry that you were forced to fit in like that.”</p>
<p>Cathy let out a small huff, lowering her legs from her chest. “There was no choice in our time.”</p>
<p>The two fell into a stretch of silence.</p>
<p>“I also wanted to talk about something else. If you’re okay with it?” Anna spoke up cautiously.</p>
<p>Cathy made a hum of acknowledgement, signaling Anna to continue.</p>
<p>“You don’t sleep much… I just wanted to make sure you’re doing alright.”</p>
<p>“I’m fine… it’s just… I have so much time now. Why waste it by sleeping?”</p>
<p>“Cathy, I don't think that’s very healthy.” Anna said seriously, straightening as she watched the younger queen.</p>
<p>“I'm trying to get better with it.” Cathy acknowledged. Anna slowly relaxed at this before also remembering something they’ve talked about before.</p>
<p>“You’ve also had nightmares.” Anna said, tilting her head.</p>
<p>“Yeah…”</p>
<p>“Is it still the survivor’s guilt dreams?”</p>
<p>Cathy stayed quiet.</p>
<p>Anna took note of how Cathy wasn’t speaking up. “Cathy? You know you can talk to me, right?”</p>
<p>Then, Cathy slowly spoke up. “There are the survivor’s guilt ones… but there are others…”</p>
<p>“Do you want to talk about them?”</p>
<p>Cathy paused, debating on whether or not she wanted to. Finally, she spoke up. “Sometimes… I dream about my husbands. They yell and scream and it hurts all over again. Occasionally it’s the children.” She didn’t elaborate further.</p>
<p>Anna hummed, watching Cathy for a moment. “You know you can come to any of us, for your nightmares?”</p>
<p>“Kat has been helping.” Cathy explained. “We help each other sleep.”</p>
<p>“That’s good. For both of you.” Anna agreed with a nod. “And I hope you know that your husbands will never hurt you or scream at you again. We won’t let them. And nothing that happened with the children was your fault. None of it.”</p>
<p>Cathy took a shuddering breath. “I… I’m starting to learn that.”</p>
<p>“All I can ask is for you to keep it in mind. And please, start coming to us if you have a nightmare, or even if you just need help getting sleep.” Anna requested gently, giving Cathy a beaming smile. “Now, do you want to stay here or go back to the others?”</p>
<p>“Can we stay here for a bit longer?”</p>
<p>“Of course we can, Bücherwurm.”</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>“Did someone order something?” Jane asked, walking to the living room with a package in hand.</p>
<p>Anne was the one who perked up. “Ooh, I did!”</p>
<p>She stood and took the package from Jane. But instead of opening it or heading for her room, Anne turned to Cathy.</p>
<p>“Hey, somnolente!” Anne chirped. “It’s a gift for you! So do you want to open it in your room?”</p>
<p>Cathy tilted her head as she watched Anne, although her face remained neutral. “A gift?”</p>
<p>“Yup, I got you something I think you’ll like!”</p>
<p>“Alright.” Cathy agreed before standing and following the green queen. The others watched them go in both confusion and amusement.</p>
<p>As Cathy closed the door behind her, Anne had immediately sat the box on the bed and forced it open. Cathy made her way over as Anne pulled out several items.</p>
<p>There was a weighted blanket, a pair of soundproof headphones, a tangle, and a fidget cube.</p>
<p>Cathy stared at all of it for several seconds before slowly picking up the fidget cube. She began clicking away at the buttons and was quickly captivated by the object.</p>
<p>Anne watched happily as Cathy messed with the cube and also looked over the other three items. Then, Cathy glanced in Anne’s direction.</p>
<p>“You didn’t have to get me all of this…”</p>
<p>“I wanted to! I found this stuff online and figured it could help you out with everything.” Anne said with a laugh.</p>
<p>“Still…”</p>
<p>“Hey, I wanted to help! Besides, I know how sucky overloads can be.”</p>
<p>“You get sensory overloads?” Cathy asked, surprised.</p>
<p>“When things get too loud sometimes or I eat the wrong thing.” Anne admitted. “I’m fine though. I didn’t even know that’s what it was until we learned about your autism.”</p>
<p>“I know what an overload feels like. It isn’t fine.” Cathy replied stubbornly. Her eyes remained glued to Anne’s shoulder, where she could watch Anne but avoid eye contact.</p>
<p>“I don’t have them too often.” Anne rebutted stubbornly. “Jane made that list of the food we avoid, and everything’s not as loud.”</p>
<p>“Do you overload after arguments?” Cathy asked with a sudden realization.</p>
<p>“Sometimes?” Anne said with a nervous chuckle. “Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. It’s why I like to be alone after the serious arguments for a while. Well, that and I have to calm myself down.”</p>
<p>“And what about crowds?” Cathy pressed.</p>
<p>“It helps when Lina holds my hand. It’s something to focus on.” Anne stated simply. She wouldn’t admit it, but her problem with crowds was also a case of trauma. The crowd at her execution had been cheering for her death, after all.</p>
<p>Cathy made a small humming noise but didn’t press further as she continued messing with the fidget cube. Anne had also begun messing with the tangle. The two remained in silence after that.</p>
<p>But Cathy knew she would have to return the favor.</p>
<p>The next day, Anne would go up to her room from breakfast and find some objects on her bed. Her own green fidget cube and tangle, along with green soundproof headphones, all accompanied by a sticky note.</p>
<p>The note simply said. ‘Take care of yourself too.’</p>
<p>And Anne knew immediately who it was from.</p>
<p>It wasn’t uncommon to see the two women with the objects after that. Anne was usually seen with her tangle. She loved it because it was also equally useful in keeping her from scratching her neck as it occupied both hands. Cathy preferred the cube, for if she wanted to, she could use it one handed and continue to write while she clicked at the cube. The headphones and Cathy’s blanket were usually spotted near them as well.</p>
<p>Cathy had also found another way to help Anne. It turned out, peppermints tasted far too strong for Cathy, but they tasted fine to Anne. And since Cathy learned the green queen was more inclined to sugar because of her ADHD, she began buying packs of chewy peppermints for Anne. It also proved to be a useful stimulant as well.</p>
<p>The two women had helped each other immensely, and were still finding ways to look out for each other.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Cathy had been surprised when Catherine had stopped her after breakfast.</p>
<p>“Mija, do you think we can talk?”</p>
<p>“Of course. My room?” At the nod of agreement, Cathy led Catherine back to her room, the older of the two closing the door behind her.</p>
<p>Both queens sat on the edge of Cathy’s bed, Cathy placing her fidget cube on her bedside table.</p>
<p>“What do you need to talk about?” Cathy started the conversation.</p>
<p>“There was something Anna pointed out.” Catherine began slowly.</p>
<p>Cathy didn’t respond, but glanced in her godmother’s direction, urging the other woman to speak.</p>
<p>“You wouldn’t stimulate yourself.” Catherine said, brows furrowed as she watched Cathy. “Before Anne got you your fidget toys. We have rarely, if never, seen you stimming. Unless, rubbing your sleeves counts…”</p>
<p>Cathy was tense as she looked to the floor. And Catherine knew she had figured something out. But this confirmation led to several depressing thoughts. And those thoughts weren’t referring to Cathy rubbing her sleeves.</p>
<p>“Did… someone keep you from stimming yourself?” Catherine asked cautiously.</p>
<p>“My husbands all thought it was weird when I stimmed.” Cathy muttered. “They hated it.”</p>
<p>Catherine inhaled sharply. “What would they do to you, Mija?”</p>
<p>Cathy paused for a long moment before she quietly began to rock herself back and forth as her breathing increased. In response, Catherine gently reached over and grabbed Cathy’s fidget cube before passing it over to the blue queen. Cathy let out a small breath as she began clicking at the buttons.</p>
<p>“They mostly yelled.” Cathy answered, staring at the cube. “And not just when I stimmed. They would yell when I tried to tell them my thoughts and opinions. When I argued. They were loud. Sometimes caused overloads.”</p>
<p>“That’s another reason why you don’t like arguments.” Catherine realized. “It reminds you of them.”</p>
<p>Cathy nodded.</p>
<p>“Lo siento mucho, Mija. I’m sorry that we all practically chased you away to your room in the beginning.” Catherine murmured.</p>
<p>“You didn’t know…”</p>
<p>Then, Catherine also thought back to something else Cathy just mentioned. “And you were so quiet because of their screaming too…”</p>
<p>Cathy didn’t reply.</p>
<p>“You can always tell us what you think, Mija.” Catherine said gently. “Your opinions matter. This is a different place now and we want to hear what you think.”</p>
<p>“Are you sure?” Cathy mumbled.</p>
<p>“Absolutely.” Catherine spoke with a smile. “We all want to know what that big brain of yours is thinking about.”</p>
<p>Cathy smiled nervously at Catherine but didn’t reply. So Catherine spoke again. “And you are always able to stimulate yourself, alright? You can do whatever you need to do, Mija.”</p>
<p>The older Catherine held out her arms and Cathy was quickly placing herself into the hug.</p>
<p>“None of you will think it’s weird?” Cathy asked quietly.</p>
<p>“Of course not, Mija.” Catherine answered calmly. “Your husbands were the ones in the wrong. You should be able to keep yourself happy. And I am so glad Anne found the fidget toys as a way for you to stim comfortably.”</p>
<p>“Are you certain?”</p>
<p>“You are like a daughter to me, Mija. And I know you are so much like family to the others as well. We all just want you to be happy.” Catherine explained, her voice steel with determination. “We will never yell at you for your own thoughts, opinions, and feelings. And we will never yell at you for keeping yourself comfortable and happy. We are so proud of you, Mija.”</p>
<p>Cathy didn’t reply anymore. Instead she pressed herself closer to Catherine. The golden queen wrapped her arms a little tighter around Cathy in response.</p>
<p>The two would remain there for long after their talk ended.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Catherine had been right when she said that the arguments were the reason Cathy spent most of her time in her room. But that wasn’t the only reason.</p>
<p>There were some days when Cathy simply didn’t want to talk. So she would remain away from interactions and hide in her room, where she didn’t have to speak. She could simply write.</p>
<p>And today was one of those days.</p>
<p>By this point, it was late in the evening. Cathy was still hunched over her desk, fidget cube clicking in one hand and a pen scratching away at paper in the other.</p>
<p>Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. Cathy didn’t hear it at first. But then there was another knock. Cathy paused and looked over at the door.</p>
<p>“Cathy?” Cathy easily recognized Kat’s voice. Still, she didn’t move.</p>
<p>“I brought you something to eat. You haven’t been out much today so I figured you were hungry.” Then, Kat shyly added. “I also wanted to make sure you were okay.”</p>
<p>Cathy stayed seated for a few seconds longer before pushing herself out of the chair and making her way over to the door.</p>
<p>She slowly opened it and Kat beamed upon seeing Cathy’s face.</p>
<p>“Hey there.” Kat said with a grin.</p>
<p>Cathy simply blinked at Kat. Kat continued smiling as she then asked a question. “Can I come in?”</p>
<p>Cathy nodded and opened the door further, allowing Kat to enter the room. She handed Cathy the plate of food she had brought. Cathy took a seat at her desk again, spinning her chair to face Kat as the other queen sat on the edge of Cathy’s bed.</p>
<p>“We haven’t seen you out of your room all day.” Kat spoke up. “Are you doing okay?”</p>
<p>Cathy glanced at her before shrugging.</p>
<p>“Do you want to talk about what’s going on?”</p>
<p>Cathy stared at Kat for several seconds before slowly shrugging again.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But is it okay if I stay in here for a while?” Kat asked with a hopeful smile. “I don’t want you to be alone.</p>
<p>Cathy seemed surprised but then nodded as she turned her attention back to the food and her writing.</p>
<p>They remained in a comfortable silence for about half an hour. Kat laid on Cathy’s bed, scrolling through her phone. Cathy remained perched in her rolling chair, working on a story.</p>
<p>But then, Kat heard a voice.</p>
<p>“There are days where I don’t want to talk. And I felt like that in my past life too.” Cathy finally explained, her voice barely above a whisper. “... Though, there were things I loved to talk about for hours. But Henry and Thomas didn’t help… they hated it when I would go on rants.”</p>
<p>Kat watched Cathy carefully. She mentally cursed Henry and Thomas. Of course they made things even worse. Being almost killed and constantly berated for speaking definitely did not help when you already had trouble speaking.</p>
<p>Then, Kat made a quick decision.</p>
<p>“Wait right here.” And then Kat was quickly slipping out of the room.</p>
<p>Cathy felt confused. But Kat was quickly returning. She held a book in her hands and she silently handed it over to Cathy, a nervous grin on her face.</p>
<p>Cathy stared blankly at both Kat and the book. “Sign language?”</p>
<p>“Well… you said there are some days where you don’t want to talk.” Kat explained, shifting anxiously. “And with sign language you don’t have to talk!”</p>
<p>Cathy opened the book as Kat continued to explain. Apparently, the pink queen had already been interested in sign language. And now, she wanted to share that interest with Cathy, who Kat felt would love this knowledge.</p>
<p>Cathy stopped Kat mid-ramble by standing up and pulling Kat into a hug. “Is this okay?” Cathy questioned.</p>
<p>Kat relaxed happily into the hug. “Yeah.”</p>
<p>They remained this way for a long moment until Cathy spoke again. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>“Of course! And for the record… I love hearing you rant. Screw your husbands.”</p>
<p>Cathy let out a hum in reply to this but actually untensed further.</p>
<p>Kat pulled back and kept her eyes on Cathy’s forehead as she asked a question. “When do you want to start learning?”</p>
<p>“... Can we start now?” Cathy’s eyes were bright with intrigue and excitement.</p>
<p>“Anytime you want!”</p>
<p>So both women sat next to each other on the floor and opened the book. They would spend hours pouring over and learning this language. They would teach it to the other queens and anytime there was an occasion where Cathy didn’t want to talk, or even if the others didn’t, everyone would use sign language.</p>
<p>But there was always something special when Cathy and Kat talked to each other using sign language.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>It was a bright morning and the queens all decided to have a picnic in the park for lunch. After a chaotic morning, they all packed up food and items and made their way over to the park.</p>
<p>They chose a more secluded spot that wouldn’t be too loud. Anne, Kat, and Anna were all quickly vanishing into the trees with loud laughter as Anna and Kat both realized just how much Anne blended in with her green clothing. Catherine and Jane took the path, chatting as they took in the beautiful nature.</p>
<p>Cathy had remained with their stuff. She was writing as she clicked at her fidget cube, occasionally taking a sip of coffee from the familiar blue thermos.</p>
<p>She completely zoned out to the world until she felt something grab at her shoulder. Cathy jolted and threw herself away from the sudden touch. Her thermos was knocked over and her notebook flew from her lap, but Cathy kept a tight grip on her pen and fidget cube as she looked wide eyed towards the source of the touch.</p>
<p>It was a woman, who immediately began yelling. “I have been trying to get your attention for several minutes!”</p>
<p>“What?” Cathy found herself questioning. But it wasn’t just the woman’s words, Cathy also questioned why the woman was yelling at her.</p>
<p>“That’s right! Now then, my son wants to play with your toy, so hand it over. I’ll give it back before we leave.” The lady continued, holding her hand out.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand…” Cathy trailed off.</p>
<p>The lady huffed. “The cube!”</p>
<p>Cathy felt herself tense and her grip tightened on the mentioned fidget cube. “Ma’am. I would rather not…”</p>
<p>“You are a grown woman! You should know how to share!” The lady cried, throwing her hands in the air and causing Cathy to flinch.</p>
<p>“Ma’am please—“</p>
<p>“Don’t ma’am me!” The lady snapped.</p>
<p>Cathy could feel herself reaching the tipping point. All she wanted was for this lady to go away and leave her alone. She wanted quiet and she wanted the other queens.</p>
<p>“You will get this back when my son and I leave!” The lady finally exclaimed. Then, she reached forward and snatched the cube from Cathy’s hand.</p>
<p>That was what finally sent Cathy over the edge. Her breathing increased as she curled in on herself. Her hands flew to her ears and she began to rock back and forth. It resembled the scene from when Anna had to calm her down, only this time was a sensory overload. And no one was there to help her.</p>
<p>Every one of her senses assaulted her and Cathy could do nothing else but hunch over on the floor, letting out a cry.</p>
<p>The lady was saying something but Cathy couldn’t make heads or tails of what it was between everything going on around her.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Cathy could feel a cube gently being pressed into her hands. Then, her headphones were carefully slipped over her ears. Everything became muffled but Cathy could still make out words.</p>
<p>“It’s just me and Chaton, somnolente.” A familiar voice soothed. “The others are dealing with that bitch.”</p>
<p>“You’re okay, Cathy.” Kat’s voice said. Cathy was instinctively pressing herself towards Kat’s voice and arms slowly wrapped around her, pulling her closer to a familiar body. “Is this okay?” The pink queen asked.</p>
<p>Cathy managed to press a nod into the crook of Kat’s neck as she sobbed. Kat’s body shielded her closed eyes from the bright sunlight. The cube in her hands, headphones over her ears, and the pressure wrapped around her worked to ground her.</p>
<p>“We’re here for you. Just breathe.”</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>When Cathy had first gone into her overload, the other queens had all been walking back to join her.</p>
<p>Then they heard Cathy’s cry. They all stopped in their tracks and they could easily make out the scene in front of them.</p>
<p>Cathy was hunched over, in the beginning of an overload. A woman stood over her, screaming. She held a familiar blue cube in her hands.</p>
<p>“See?! It wasn’t that hard to share! Now stop throwing a temper tantrum like a child and get over it!”</p>
<p>All of the queens were quickly sprinting over and springing into action. Anne and Kat move towards Cathy, and once they’d reached her Anne was quickly pulling her own green fidget cube out of the pack she had left with Cathy. Catherine, Anna, and Jane were moving towards the lady.</p>
<p>“What are you doing?!” It was Catherine who yelled. The lady jolted and seemed surprised.</p>
<p>Then she straightened and fixed them all with a happy look. “Oh good! Maybe you can get this grown adult to stop acting like an idiot child!”</p>
<p>All three of their glares seemed to get more dangerous.</p>
<p>“Ma’am, hand over the cube.” Anna said in a low voice. It wasn’t a request.</p>
<p>The lady’s face twisted into a scowl as she realized they weren’t going to help. “No! My son wants to play with it! That bratty woman needs to grow up and learn how to share!” She snapped.</p>
<p>“Says the woman who stole something important to our friend.” Catherine said, growing more irritated. “If anything, you’re the brat in this situation.”</p>
<p>Out of the corner of her eye, Catherine noticed Anna whisper something to Jane. The silver queen nodded and was rushing off in a different direction.</p>
<p>“Important?! It’s just a little cube!” The lad screeched.</p>
<p>“Then why are you still trying to steal it?!”</p>
<p>“Because my precious baby wants to play with it! And because of all of this, you will not be getting it back!” Then, the lady was spinning on her heel and striding over to the table where her son sat.</p>
<p>“Give it back! Now!” Anna growled. Her and Catherine had followed after her. The lady gave the cube to her child and was quickly turning back around to face the two women.</p>
<p>“Your entire group is a danger to everyone in this park! I’m calling the cops to escort all of you out of here!”</p>
<p>Catherine and Anna both looked at each other, clearly questioning the lady’s sanity.</p>
<p>“No need, ma’am.” The lady turned around and found Jane standing with two police officers.</p>
<p>The lady's eyes lit up. “Officers! That woman over there stole my son’s toy! I got it back but now these women right here are harassing and insulting me! One of them even threatened to assault me!” She glanced at all three queens with a smug look. Catherine and Anna both looked ready to argue and Jane was turning to both officers, also about to protest.</p>
<p>In reality, the two officers had seen the entire event unfold. They had already been about to intervene when the other queens arrived and Jane had reached them.</p>
<p>“We will have to validate your claims first.” The female officer said.</p>
<p>“We also have security cameras set up around the park. There’s one right over there too that probably caught everything. So I guess we can simply check the feed.” The male officer said, hiding a smirk.</p>
<p>The lady paled. Then, she grabbed the cube from her child and practically threw it at Catherine, who quickly caught it. The lady grabbed her items and was quickly pulling her whining son toward the entrance.</p>
<p>Jane let out a breath of relief as she turned to the officers. “Thank you officers.”</p>
<p>“Of course, ma’am! We hope the rest of your day goes better.” The two officers bid farewell to the three queens and left the scene.</p>
<p>With the drama over, the three queens quickly went back to the other half of their group.</p>
<p>By this point, Cathy was looking much better and had taken her headphones off. The arriving queens took seats with everyone, Catherine handing over Cathy’s blue fidget cube.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry. We kicked her ass.” Anna said with a smirk. Cathy gave her own weak smirk in return.</p>
<p>“Thanks.” She rasped as she slowly handed Anne’s green cube back. In response, the green queen traded Cathy her pen and notebook.</p>
<p>“Of course, love.” Jane replied. Everyone fell into silence as Cathy slowly opened her notebook and began to write, calming herself further.</p>
<p>She was eventually snapped out of it by a noise. Cathy glanced up and was surprised.</p>
<p>“What are you all doing?”</p>
<p>The others, except Kat, who was still holding Cathy on her lap, were all packing up the stuff they had brought.</p>
<p>“We’re going to head home, love.” Jane explained gently.</p>
<p>“Yeah! We can have the picnic in the living room instead!” Anne cheered.</p>
<p>“We never agreed to that, Querida.” Catherine replied in a deadpan.</p>
<p>“But it’ll be fun! We can move the furniture out of the way and put the blanket on the floor!”</p>
<p>Anna laughed. “I’m with Anne on this one. We weren’t able to have the picnic here so let’s do it in the living room!”</p>
<p>As the other queens began chipping in with the conversation, Cathy glanced up at Kat. “We don’t have to go home because of this…”</p>
<p>Kat gave her a smile. “After what just happened, I think all of us need a calmer setting. You especially. Am I right?”</p>
<p>Cathy bit her lip before quietly admitting. “Home does sound nice.”</p>
<p>“Then that’s where we’ll go. We just want you to be safe and happy.”</p>
<p>“And I want the same for all of you.” Cathy said in return. Kat giggled happily at that.</p>
<p>So all of the queens made their way back home. Upon reaching the house, Anna and Anne both immediately began moving the living room furniture to the walls. Catherine and Jane both shook their heads in resignation as they sat the food on the kitchen table and spread the blanket out on the now cleared floor.</p>
<p>Kat and Cathy were the first to sit down, Cathy moving herself back into Kat’s arms. Catherine had sat down next, and Anne moved to place her head on Catherine’s lap. The golden queen pretended to be annoyed, but her fingers began brushing through the second queen’s hair anyways. Jane and Anna sat down last, their bodies leaning against each other.</p>
<p>Everyone, Cathy especially, relaxed as they enjoyed each other’s peaceful chatter.</p>
<p>~~||~~||~~</p>
<p>Catherine Parr was known as a survivor.</p>
<p>The truth was, she never felt like a survivor. She fit into the crowd and watched as horrible things happened. She learned to hide her opinions and who she was.</p>
<p>But the other queens were slowly unraveling that point of view. They were helping her become the person she always wanted to be.</p>
<p>She talked more. She made her opinions known. She would go on her rants while the others listened eagerly. And when she didn’t feel like talking or if she just couldn’t, she would sign.</p>
<p>She wasn’t weird. Like Henry, Thomas, her other two husbands, and everyone else in her past life thought she was. She simply had a different view than others.</p>
<p>If she had been reincarnated alone, Cathy wouldn’t be a survivor. She would be a shell of the person she is today.</p>
<p>But with the other queens by her side, helping her heal just as she helps them. Cathy knows she is a survivor in this life.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translations:<br/>Liebling = love<br/>Mija = my daughter<br/>Bücherwurm = bookworm<br/>Somnolente = sleepy<br/>Lo siento mucho = I am so sorry<br/>Chaton = kitty<br/>Querida = darling</p>
<p>I completely forgot about everything that happened with Elizabeth until this chapter was practically finished… so assume that all of that was dealt with beforehand when Kat found out about it through her history book. Maybe I’ll write it as a story one day, who knows?</p>
<p>Thanks again for reading!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Translations according to google:<br/>Königin = queen<br/>Maldición = damn<br/>Gatita = kitty<br/>Hija = daughter<br/>Madre = mother<br/>Querida = darling</p>
<p>Catherine strikes me as the person who would want to seem strong to others. And being thrown out by your husband because 1) you couldn’t provide a heir, and 2) because he found someone possibly better? That would definitely not lead to good thoughts. That’s not even mentioning your daughter becoming ‘Bloody Mary.’</p>
<p>The sleep talking was not originally planned, but I needed someway to get feelings out there, and I found that to be the easiest.</p>
<p>I figured the beheaded cousins weren’t the only ones with phantom pains. I mean, dying of heart cancer? That’s got to have some consequences.</p>
<p>I also couldn’t help but allude to future ships. That’s the story I really can’t wait to write!</p>
<p>So I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter, and I hope to get the next part out soon!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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